Olive Branch
by BlueKitsunebi
Summary: After failing to prevent the Uchiha Coup d'état fifteen years ago, Itachi has not given up on his dream of peace. The opportunity resurges to secure peace within the leaf village, and this time, he will not fail - AU in which the Uchiha Coup was successful. Itasaku.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter One

Sakura eyed the Anbu guards positioned on either side of the hospital doors as she exited. They were tall. Imposing. Their armour was stamped on each shoulder with the Uchiha crest, and as she passed them, she caught a glimpse of their Sharingan through the eyeholes of their masks.

She shook her head. Don't let them get to you, she reminded herself, they're doing their job. The thought was only mildly reassuring, though, as she knew that they were watching her. Monitoring her. After all, who could trust her given her association with Senju Tsunade?

As she made her way to the Hokage Tower, she avoided the gazes of the patrol officers patrolling the streets.

 _ _Keep your head down__ , she reminded herself when an officer's eyes rested on her. But of course, Sakura wasn't one for keeping her head down and shutting up. Instead, she lifted her chin and stared right back.

"Going somewhere, Haruno?"

 _ _Look what you've done now.  
__  
She nodded politely. "Hokage-sama's office, Uchiha-san."

The officer's gaze hardened. "That's Uchiha- _ _sama__ to you."

Before she could stop herself, the words slipped out. "Of course, forgive me, Uchiha-san."

 _ _Seriously? It's like you're trying to get yourself thrown in jail.__

"You're lucky you're not dog food by now," he said, smirking.

Sakura smiled, because why not? She had already dug herself into a hole. Why not dig her own grave whilst she was at it?

"That's interesting." She said, taking a step forward. "Perhaps you should arrest me right now, and then next time you land yourself in the hospital, I won't be around to heal you. We'll see who's dog food then."

The officer just stared at her, his expression calculating. "Careful, Haruno," he told her in a low voice, before he walked away.

Once the officer had disappeared from view, Sakura took a deep breath to calm her anger. She knew that she needed to keep a lid on her temper, but that was much easier said than done. Especially around these irritating patrol officers who were just waiting for any excuse to arrest her. Collecting her bearings, Sakura continued on her way to the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Itachi had been stood atop of the village wall, collecting data from the head of security, when he heard the commotion down below. It didn't take him long to locate the source of the disruption. Pink hair. A doctor's lanyard.

 _ _Haruno-san.  
__  
She seemed to be causing trouble with one of the patrol officers. Her voice barely constrained her anger. Itachi raised an eyebrow when she took a step closer to the officer, presumably to threaten him.

 _ _Silly girl, he thought, that tongue of hers will be her downfall.__

"Uchiha Itachi-sama?"

Itachi turned his attention back to the head of security. "Yes?"

"That is all the data we have gathered. May I be dismissed?"

Itachi nodded, and the man retreated back to his station. Many similar stations ran at various intervals across the tops of the village walls, and each station was occupied by at least one security shinobi. Itachi sighed. None of this seemed necessary to him. Yes, the village had been in a precarious situation during and immediately after the coup, but it had been fifteen years since then. If enemy villages wanted to attack, they would have done so already.

He glanced once more at the security shinobi scouring the forests for suspicious movement with their Sharingan. Lips pressed into a grim line, Itachi began to make his way to the Hokage Tower to deliver the data he had collected.

 _This is not what Shisui would have wanted._

* * *

Sakura slipped into the Hokage Tower, flashing her ID badge at the Anbu guards stationed outside of the Hokage's office. She heard muffled voices from inside, and hesitated before she realised that if it were anything truly confidential they would have placed a seal on the room. As she rapped on the door, the voices stopped.

"Come in," she heard.

When she entered, her gaze first met the dark eyes of Sasuke's brother, Uchiha Itachi, before meeting those of the Hokage, Uchiha Fugaku.

"Hokage-sama," she greeted with a bow.

Fukagu, was sat behind his desk with a document in his hand. "Haruno Sakura."

"You summoned me," she said.

Itachi was studying her carefully. "Would you like me to leave?" he asked his father.

Fugaku shook his head. "No need." He nodded to Sakura. "I understand that you lost one of your patients recently. The funeral was this morning." he said to her.

She nodded, understanding immediately what he was truly asking. She reached into her satchel and pulled out a jar. Suspended in liquid, a pair of eyes glowed red with the Sharingan. Slowly, she approached Fugaku's desk, holding the jar delicately.

Fugaku stood and took the jar from her hands. He studied the Sharingan inside. "Uchiha Haruka. She will be missed." He turned to Itachi, handing him the jar. "Itachi, take these to the safe. I understand that you know what to do."

Itachi nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama," he murmured. Sakura couldn't help but notice that he said the words as though they burned him.

 _ _Perhaps he hates having to be so formal to his own__ __father__ , she thought.

As Itachi passed her on his way to the door, he paused. "Sakura-san?"

"Yes?" she replied.

"Whilst I hold the utmost respect your efforts in the hospital, and I am grateful for the number of times that you have saved my brother's life, I recommend that you refrain from agitating the local patrol officers."

Sakura felt her jaw slacken a little. He had seen her little tit-for-tat earlier.

"What happened?" Fugaku's voice was dark. Sakura felt a wave of panic wash over her as Itachi explained to him what he had witnessed.

"The officer started it," she blurted out, immediately regretting the words.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps he did, but your words did nothing but exacerbate the situation."

"I'll try to keep a lid on it next time," she said to Itachi.

The look on his face spoke volumes. He clearly didn't believe her. But before she could say anything further, he left the room.

"Haruno."

She flinched and turned to Fugaku. He was watching her with a stone cold gaze. She knew that he had never particularly liked her, especially due to the fact that her shishou was a Senju, enemy to the Uchiha. But at the very least, he had always tolerated her. However, right at this moment, Sakura could only think that if looks could kill, she would be ashes already.

"Hokage-sama?"

His eyes narrowed. "You realise that I will not tolerate this behaviour," he said. "Do you know the reason why you are walking free with nothing but a warning?"

She swallowed. "Because I'm Sasuke-kun's teammate?" she said, recalling the words of the officer earlier.

"Wrong," he replied. His voice was grave, and Sakura felt her hands beginning to tremble. She bunched them into fists. She couldn't let him see her fear.

"Well, Hokage-sama," she said. "What is the reason then?"

"Because you're an excellent medic."

Sakura froze. That was not what she was expecting.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Fugaku continued, "your skills in medicine are beyond compare. Even if you learned from that," his eyes bled into the Sharingan. "that __woman__."

Sakura wasn't sure whether he was threatening her or flattering her. "Erm, thank you?"

"That was not a compliment."

 _ _Oh.  
__  
"That," he said, "is the only reason why you are still walking free."

Sakura froze when his Sharingan twisted into the Mangekyou. A jolt of fear shot down the back of her neck, and her heart jittered.

 _ _No, he wouldn't. He wouldn't use that technique, would he?  
__  
Sakura couldn't bear the thought of being sucked into the Tsukuyomi. After all, she had seen the victims of the technique. They barely recovered from psychological trauma, if they recovered at all.

The look that Fugaku gave her told her that he would not hesitate to use his Mangekyou on her should he desire. "You should not take advantage of your situation," he said. "After all, there are many others who hold promise of success in medicine."

Sakura nodded. She stared at the ground and tried to focus on her breathing.

"You are dismissed, Haruno."

* * *

Itachi set the jar containing Uchiha Haruka's eyes on a shelf alongside the rows of identical jars. The walk-in safe in the basement of the Hokage Tower was not small, and every time Itachi stepped in here he was reminded of the number of lives that were destroyed by hatred.

The safe was originally used to secure forbidden scrolls and books. However, ever since the Uchiha's ascension, it was used as a safekeeping for the Sharingan. There was only one reason Itachi could think of as to why his father would go to such lengths to secure their clan's dojutsu: paranoia.

 _ _The curse of hatred has truly changed him.__

Itachi took one last glance at Uchiha Haruka's eyes before exiting the safe. He made sure to listen for the series of clicks as the locks slid into place. He had never truly known Uchiha Haruka. She was an old acquaintance of his mother's, but that was as far as his knowledge of her went. Itachi exited the Hokage Tower, squinting as the sunlight hit his face.

 _ _I'm sure mother is devastated after the funeral this morning. Perhaps I should pick up some flowers from the Yamana__ —

Itachi felt a hand grip his shirt as he was swung around and slammed against the outside wall of the Hokage Tower. Immediately, his fingers closed around the wrist of his attacker, intending to snap it and use the brief distraction to grab a kunai from his pack.

"Don't even think about it, Uchiha."

He stilled when he recognised the familiar voice. He looked down and found himself meeting the furious eyes of Haruno Sakura.

"Sakura-san," he said. "To what do I owe the honour?"

"Shut up," she hissed, her grip tightening on his shirt.

Itachi tried not to smile at the fact that he was being lifted at the scruff by a girl who was almost a foot shorter than him.

"You ratted me out," she hissed. "Why would you do that, you ass?"

Itachi simply stared at her. "Yes. I did. Because I was doing my job." She opened her mouth to speak but before she could, he added, "I don't see any issue with this matter."

Sakura's eyes burned into him. He could almost taste her struggle to keep a lid on her temper. "No issue? I can't believe you! Because of you, your dad is considering having me incarcerated!"

Itachi sighed. "No. He isn't."

Sakura stared at him, some of the anger in her expression slipping away. Her hand dropped from his shirt. "What?"

"He has no intention of doing such a thing, Sakura-san," he replied.

She scowled. "That's not what he said to me after you left."

"Despite what he tells you, he will not go to those lengths."

"And why is that? Because I'm a medic?" she said. "Sorry to cut to the chase but he made it pretty clear that I'm replaceable."

"No." Itachi's patience was wearing thin. "Because you are well received by civilian and shinobi alike."

Itachi said no more. He could see the cogs turning in her brain as she tried to piece together the meaning of his words. Before she could say anything in response, he slid past her, muttering "If you'll excuse me, I have matters that take greater precedence than this one."

"Hold on a second!" he heard her call, but he didn't turn. According to Sasuke she was a smart girl. Itachi was sure she could figure things out by herself.

He continued walking through the village, stopping once at the Yamanaka flower shop to purchase three purple tulip stems. His feet carried him to the cemetery, where the grave of Uchiha Haruka was easily identifiable by the fresh bouquets of white flowers that decorated the stone. Gently, he set one of his three tulips atop of the pile of flowers. The vibrant purple petals of his tulip stood out against the mass of white funeral flowers.

Then, he slipped through the graves until he found the one that read 'Uchiha Izumi'. Unlike Haruka's grave, Izumi's was devoid of flowers. He used to find bunches of flowers and cards from her mother, but this stopped three years ago. He wasn't sure of the reason, but Itachi suspected that her mother had either passed away herself or was too heartbroken to bear the sight of her daughter's grave. After Izumi's death, he had cut all ties with her mother. It was better that way, and at the time, Itachi couldn't face the prospect of visiting a house filled with memories of her.

After laying down the second tulip, he moved on. He stopped only when he reached the familiar grave under a blossom tree. He collapsed to his knees.

"Shisui." Gingerly, he rested the final tulip on the base of the grave. "I don't know what to do."

He recalled the earlier words that his father spoke to him before Haruno Sakura's interruption.

 _ _"I cannot remain as Hokage forever. It has been fifteen years, Itachi."  
__  
At that moment, he hadn't been able to answer. He had only stared at his father's desk and prayed that the subject would disappear.

Staring at Shisui's grave, he spoke. "He wants me as the next Hokage. I'm glad, Shisui, as it gives me a chance to change things. I might be able to achieve what we couldn't fifteen years ago." He paused. "But that's also the problem; how am I supposed to convince civilians and shinobi outside of our clan that I can be trusted, that I am not afflicted with my father's hatred."

He leant forward and pressed his head against the gravestone.

"And then there's the Uchiha clansmen. How do I destroy the hatred that has consumed them? The clan may retaliate if I do not uphold my father's beliefs. Shisui, what should I do?"

Itachi didn't expect a response, but the breeze that brushed through his hair was oddly comforting, and the whisper of the blossom branches above his head filled the empty silence.

Something soft landed on the back of his neck. He reached behind him and grasped whatever it was that tickled the skin of his neck. It was an intact cherry blossom. He stared at it in his palm for a moment before he peered up at the tree arching over him.

He smiled as an idea dawned on him.

"I understand now, Shisui."

* * *

A/N: An AU in which the Uchiha coup actually happened. Yes, unfortunately Shisui is dead in this story. Izumi too. I'm sorry. But there will probably be some flashbacks of when Shisui was still alive, and how he and Itachi failied to stop the coup. I haven't decided yet when these flashbacks will occur, if they will. I don't know if this is a decent first chapter. I hope it is, although it's probably riddled with typos. Let me know what you think :)


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Two

Sakura skidded in the dirt and, summoning chakra to her foot, thrust her leg up in a powerful kick. There was a crunch as her foot collided with Sasuke's ribs. He stumbled back, clutching at his chest.

"Break his ribs, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted from the side of the training grounds. Kakashi was leaning against a tree next to him. "The bastard deserves it for ditching me with the bill at Ichiraku!"

"Hush, Naruto." Kakashi's single eye narrowed. The empty socket of his other eye was covered by his forehead protector. Sakura had only ever seen it during his routine check-ups. She didn't know the story behind it, but Kakashi never seemed willing to share, so she didn't dare ask.

Naruto completely ignored Kakashi. "You got this, Sakura-chan!" he yelled. "Pound his Uchiha ass!"

Sakura tuned out Naruto's interference. She couldn't afford distraction. Not when Sasuke almost immediately regained his stance. He jumped several feet away from her – a move that Sakura didn't like. Of course, he knew that she was a close range fighter, and she couldn't land a finger on him so long as he kept his distance. But that didn't mean that she was in the dark about his plan. He would either use a genjutsu, a katon jutsu, or a shiruken jutsu. She grinned when his eyes flashed red.

 _ _Sasuke-kun doesn't realise how predictable he is.__

It came as no surprise when the grass and trees of the training grounds twisted and morphed. The landscape had become a devastated battlefield. The earth was split and cracked, and the only trees left standing were swathed in flames.

 _ _Genjutsu__.

She sighed and made the seal to dispel the illusion, but the word – 'kai' – never came. She was frozen as she pieced together the scene around her.

Bodies, if they could still be called bodies. They were unrecognisable in the carnage. Missing limbs. Decapitated heads with eyeballs that gorged from their sockets. Blood spray coated the grass wherever she looked. Screams. Endless screams of pain, of fear. Screams of "Katon-no-jutsu!"

Sakura didn't dare close her eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to keep them open either. Her chest was heavy, and she felt herself breathing hard and fast, but somehow it just wasn't enough. She needed to move. She needed to dispel the illusion.

 _ _But it's not an illusion. Not really.__

Her eyes watered, and her throat felt constricted. The shrieks and moans of pain around her grew louder. Closer. They drowned her until she could hear nothing else.

 _ _Move, Sakura, move. Make the seal!__

She clenched her eyes shut. Her hands shook violently as she slowly brought them up to make the seal. "Kai," she croaked.

As she opened her eyes she felt the cool edge of a kunai against her neck.

"I win, Sakura." Sasuke's deep voice sounded from just over her shoulder.

"Well done, Sasuke." Kakashi walked toward them. His one eye crinkled as he smiled.

Sakura couldn't speak. She stared at the training grounds. The grass was fresh and green where only moments ago it had been stained red.

Hn." Sasuke removed the kunai from Sakura's neck, but she couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the training grounds. She could still see the flames licking the trees, and the smell of burning flesh lingered. Even if she shut her eyes, she saw it as clear as day.

 _ _It's not real. It's not real.__

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto approached, grinning. "You were so cool!"

"Hmm...Sakura?" Kakashi was staring at her. Naruto's grin vanished and he tilted his head in confusion.

Sasuke placed his hand on her arm. He frowned, his eyes searching her face. "Sakura? What's wr—"

She ripped her arm away from him, stumbling back several paces.

 _ _I__ __just__ __can't__... Her thoughts trailed off. __Why would he use a genjutsu like that? Why would he use it on me?__

"Sakura-chan, what's the matter?" Naruto said, pushing past Sasuke as he walked toward her. "Did the bastard do something?"

As Naruto reached out to touch her, Sakura formed the seal for a transportation jutsu. In a burst of smoke, she was gone, leaving her teammates wondering what had just happened.

* * *

Itachi jumped across rooftops with a scroll in his hand. It had taken all morning before he was finally free from having to attend meeting after meeting with his father. Amongst other concerns, his father was determined to send his finest Anbu out to locate and apprehend Senju Tsunade. Itachi tried not to sneer.

 _ _Arrested for nothing more than being a Senju.__

He couldn't help but wonder how Haruno Sakura would react to the capture of her old mentor.

 _ _Sakura-san.__

Itachi stopped on the roof of an old grocery shop and opened up the scroll he was carrying. He made a seal and a bouquet of narcissus emerged from the scroll. He had almost purchased a bouquet of roses, but hesitated as he remembered a time when his mother set a jug of narcissus on the kitchen table and the sweet scent of the flowers had filled the entire room. The scent of roses paled in comparison.

Taking the little paper tag attached to the bouquet, Itachi fished a pen out of his pocket and scribbled down a quick note. He had only ever done this once before. Even though he knew that it had been fifteen years since then, and Izumi would understand if she were here, he couldn't help the sliver of guilt that flared in his gut.

 _ _Izumi, I'm sorry.__

* * *

Sakura reappeared in her living room and immediately collapsed onto the couch. Her knees were trembling and she felt helpless against the memories that flooded her mind.

One minute she was in a field making cosmos chains with Ino, the next she was buried under a pile of rubble as her neighbourhood was burned to ash by relentless katon jutsus. She had been seven years old, a kunoichi in-training. She knew how to wield a kunai, how to accurately launch shiruken. But when her home exploded in wave of fire and glass, all of the lessons at the academy had flown straight out of the window along with the fragments of her father's skull. She knew when the initial blast hit that her father was dead. It was later that she realised her mother had joined him, when she found a single bloodied eyeball staring at her from what used to be the kitchen floor.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a bang on her window.

Sakura jumped. She glanced around, frantically reminding herself that she was in the living room of her apartment, not the remains of her childhood home.

There was another bang, though gentler this time.

Sakura looked at the living room window to see a large crow sitting on the window ledge outside of the glass. She squinted at it, puzzled. The crow was unfamiliar. She didn't recognise it as anybody's summons, yet there was a small scroll attached to its leg.

"I don't recognise you," she said. "How do I know you don't belong to the enemy?"

It stared at her for a moment before tilting its head.

She sighed. "Fine then, but I'll have you know that I have traps all over this place. One wrong move and you're nothing but feathers."

The crow just blinked.

Hesitantly, she walked over to the window and opened it. The crow hopped forward and began to nuzzle its head in her palm. She wasn't really sure what to think. "You're a strange one," she said, stroking the crow's head. "Normally summons are distrustful of people they've never met, and I'm pretty sure I've never seen you before."

With one hand, she untied the scroll from the crow's leg. Leaving the bird on the windowsill, she took the scroll to her coffee table. Glancing at the crow, she said, "remember, no funny stuff," before opening the scroll.

There was a puff of smoke as a bouquet of flowers appeared on her coffee table.

"What on earth?"

A sweet smell invaded her senses. She wasn't a expert in floristry like Ino, but she had picked up her fair share of knowledge. These were tiny paperwhite narcissus, and Sakura remembered Ino pointing these out to her when they were children. Ino had said that just like normal daffodils, narcissus were symbolic of new beginnings and hope. Sakura had decided right then and there that they were her new favourite flower, but Ino just laughed and told her that they were also associated with narcissism.

Narcissism or otherwise, they smelled delightful. Sakura looked at the crow, who had flown across the room and was now perched on her coffee table next to the bouquet. "Whose summon are you, and why are they giving me flowers?" she asked it.

The crow bowed its head and pecked at something dangling underneath.

"Huh?" Sakura reached under the flowers and retrieved a paper tag that was tied delicately to a green stem. There was something written on it, and Sakura angled the tag toward the light of the window as she read the words.

 _ _Haruno Sakura-san,__

 _ _I do hope that you enjoy these. If they are not to your satisfaction, please tell Kin and I will find a more suitable alternative.__

There was no name. No signature. Nothing. Sakura didn't know what to make of this. She considered calling up Ino for advice, but on second thought Ino would probably screech down the phone line about secret admirers. Sakura would never forgive Ino for the time that she happily yapped on in a busy café about how it was time that Sakura "gave up her cherry".

Needless to say, Sakura had blushed so hard that she started to look like a cherry. Shaking off the dreadful memory, she decided that no, she wouldn't tell Ino. Sighing, she stared at the bouquet and the crow who was staring at her.

"So I'm guessing you're Kin, hm? You don't look very golden."

In response to hearing his name, Kin once more brushed his head against her hand.

She opened her mouth to ask Kin who he belonged to, but she was interrupted by a knock at the door. She recognised the chakra signature immediately, and made her way to the door, opening it a crack. Sasuke's dark eyes stared back at her.

"What do you want?"

"To apologise," he said. His voice was toneless, but Sakura knew him well. He had always kept his emotions well guarded. "I shouldn't have used that genjutsu."

"No," she replied, "you shouldn't have."

"That genjutsu, it's different for everyone," he said.

"Oh? How so?"

He ran a hand across the back of his head, scratching at his scalp. She could see he was getting desperate now. "It plays on the person's fears," he said, "and everyone has different fears."

She mentally pieced together what he was trying to say. "So you—"

"I don't know what you saw in the genjutsu, but after your reaction, I realised that I made a mistake."

Sakura chewed on her lip. She wanted to slam the door in his face, to slap him, to get mad. But this was Sasuke. He would never say the two words 'I'm sorry', but this was the closest he'd get to ever actually saying them. "Okay," she said, "but next time you use a jutsu like that on me, I'll castrate you."

His face showed nothing, but his adam's apple bobbed as he gulped.

Sakura opened the door wider and he slipped into her apartment. "I'll get some tea," she said as she led him to the living room. "Do you want green tea or jasmine?" There was no answer. "Sasuke-kun?"

First he stared at Kin with confusion. But then his gaze lowered to the bouquet. More specifically, the paper tag. His expression changed. The confusion was still there, but there was something else alongside it.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

He glared at the bouquet. "Sakura, why is my brother sending you flowers?"

Sakura's mind drew to a halt.

 _ _The flowers are from Itachi-san? But why? Is it to do with how I yelled in his face yesterday?__

"These are from your brother?" She glanced between the bouquet and Kin, who was watching silently.

Sasuke gestured to the paper tag. "That's my brother's handwriting," he said, "and __that__ is my brother's crow."

Sakura chewed on her lip. She didn't understand why Itachi would do this. Was it to screw with her head? Perhaps out of revenge for calling him an ass?

Sasuke looked at Sakura suspiciously. "Is there something going on that I should know about?"

Sakura shook her head. "Not at all. I've only spoken to him, I don't know, maybe four or five times in my life. And most of those times were when I visited your house looking for you and he answered the door."

Some of the wariness left Sasuke's expression, but he didn't seem to trust her words. "I'll go talk to him," he said, turning to the door.

"No." Sakura stood and picked up the bouquet. "I appreciate it, Sasuke-kun, but I can deal with things myself. I'll talk to him."

Sasuke looked unsure, but eventually gave a curt nod. "He's usually in his office in the Hokage Tower at this time."

She thanked him and left with the bouquet in hand.

* * *

Itachi wasn't the least bit surprised when he picked up on the chakra signature hovering just outside of his office. The signature paced back and forth through the hallway outside before coming to a stop on the opposite wall. At times it flared in anger, but mostly it hovered, nervous.

"Sakura-san, you're potentially scaring away those who might want to visit me," he called out.

The signature froze. It thrummed, unsure, before making its way to the door where it stopped just outside.

"I have no intention of carrying on this conversation through the door," he said, tapping his desk impatiently.

There was a click and a creak as she finally entered. She held her chin high and stood with her back straight, although they both knew that he could sense her anxiety.

 _ _She's got a good sense of pride.__

Itachi felt a glimmer of respect for the girl stood confidently before him. It was a shame that he was likely going to knock that confidence down after she heard what he intended to tell her.

She set the flowers down on his desk. "What are these?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Surely I don't need to tell you what flowers are, do I?" Sakura looked at him pointedly. She didn't seem to be in the mood for teasing remarks. Sighing, he added, "what do you think they are for, Sakura-san?"

"Stop answering my question with more questions," she snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "Just explain why you'd be delivering flowers to me via one of your pets."

"Kin is not a pet," he corrected her.

"Fine. A summon then."

"He is not merely a summon. He is a friend."

"Is that to compensate for your lack of real friends?"

Itachi's expression hardened. He could see from her barely concealed surprise that she didn't intend anything by her words. In fact, it was clear that she regretted them.

"Luckily for you, I was well aware of your inability to hold your tongue," he said, coolly. "You didn't come here to make petty remarks."

"No," she said quietly, "I didn't."

"You wish to understand why I sent Kin to deliver you a bouquet of flowers."

It was not a question, but she nodded.

He considered sealing his office with a jutsu. His office was secure even without extra measures, and he doubted that anyone would risk being caught eavesdropping. But if there was something that he learned from Shisui's death, it was that he couldn't take any chances.

"This conversation," he said, "is not for a place like this."

He grabbed her forearm and before she could react, he transported them to the disused training grounds of the old Uchiha compound. Old training dummies were pinned to trees, the trunks and limbs of which were scored all over with shiruken marks. Sakura was looking all around, taking in the unfamiliar area.

 _ _Of course, this area is unfamiliar to her.__

"Where are we?" she asked.

"We are in the training grounds of my clan's original compound."

She whizzed around to face him. "By 'original', you mean the old compound at the edge of the village."

"Yes."

"The one your family lived in before..."

"Before the coup, yes," he said. "I used to train here. And it is here that I assisted Sasuke with his training. As you may know, this compound was abandoned when my father became Hokage. The Uchiha clan did not want to be reminded of how the Senju shunned them."

Sakura frowned at him. "Why did you bring me here? And what does any of this have to do with the flowers?"

Itachi took a deep breath.

 _ _Forgive me, Izumi.__

"Sakura-san, I wish for your hand in marriage."

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much for the support on the first chapter! Reading your reviews really made my day. I managed to get this chapter out a day earlier than I had originally intended to, so I hope you enjoyed it.

takenbyheart - Sakura has never been a weak character, so I have no intention of portraying her as a weak character here. This is not to say that she doesn't have __weaknesses__ , as everyone does. I'm glad you liked my first chapter, but rest assured, Sakura is not weak.

\- I hope you're having a good day too! I agree about Shisui. His death pains me, but I imagine that if the coup took place the reality would be very grim with a lot of deaths. And yes, in canon, Itachi will do __anything__ for the sake of peace, so I thought it wouldn't be too OOC for him to take the measures that he does in this story.

CantFigureOutAUsername94 \- I'm not going to let it progress at a snail's pace, I promise. I don't have enough patience for that anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Three

Sakura stared at him as though he had sprouted a third arm. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"I am asking for your hand in marriage," he repeated.

Sakura's face drained of colour. "Are you insane?"

"No," he replied.

"Did you hit your head recently?"

"My head is perfectly fine, thank you."

She shook her head in disbelief. "This is real? You're actually asking me to...to __marry__ you?"

Itachi didn't answer. He was starting to feel irritated by her ridiculous questions. __Patience__ , he reminded himself, __have patience.__

She dropped the bouquet of Narcissus on the grass. "You barely even know me. You do realise that this is probably the most we've ever spoken, discounting yesterday?"

"Yes, I'm aware."

"Then why?" She stared at him, wide eyed.

Itachi glanced around at the original Uchiha training grounds. He wasn't sure exactly how much she already knew about their village's political history, but it was time that he made things clearer to her. Soon, she would understand.

"Sakura-san, how much do you know about the events of the coup d'état fifteen years ago? More specifically, the political influences behind it?"

"Not much. I was seven when the time so I don't remember much of the political tensions. I only know what Tsunade-shishou told me."

He nodded in response. It wasn't a surprise that Tsunade would have filled in as many gaps as she was able to before her communication with Sakura was discovered. Itachi knew very little about the finer details of their relationship.

As far as he understood, Sakura first encountered Tsunade during a mission when she was thirteen. During Sakura's missions from then on out, Tsunade would track her down and teach her. Itachi had been present when a sixteen year old Sakura returned from a mission, only to be apprehended at the village gates. He had been present when she was cuffed and thrown into an interrogation cell. He had been present when she passed out in her chakra restraints after being subjected to Tsukuyomi. And he had been present when it was revealed that Sakura, in fact, knew nothing of Tsunade being a member of the Senju.

But he did not know what Tsunade had taught her outside of their training.

"And what exactly did she tell you?" he asked.

Sakura eyed him warily. "Why do you need to know?"

"Because if I am to explain my actions, it is necessary for your full understanding." Sakura didn't look convinced. He sighed. "Please bear with me, Sakura-san."

She nodded, but traces of suspicion still lurked in her eyes and voice. "Fine then," she said. "She told me that Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage, had been close with Uchiha Madara. Their relationship was like that of brothers. But tensions between their clans split them apart. Hashirama's younger brother, the Second Hokage, didn't trust the Uchiha like Hashirama did, and that he shunned them and relocated them to the edge of the village where they were under surveillance."

Itachi nodded. This was all in the history books at the Academy. It would be a surprise if she did not know these facts, given how the books had been edited to focus largely on the sufferings of the Uchiha clan.

Sakura opened her mouth, but before she could continue, he spoke. "Did she tell you anything of the events leading up to the Coup itself?"

Sakura hummed, deep in thought. "I remember her telling me that the Third Hokage and the village elders had formulated a plan to combat the Coup, but the Uchiha struck before they could put their plan into action." She shrugged. "The Third Hokage and the elders are all dead, though. Nobody knows what they were going to do."

"I do."

"Hm?"

"I know of the plan established by the council and the Third Hokage."

Sakura began to look uneasy. Hesitantly, she asked him, "what was it? The plan."

"They intended to have the Uchiha clan exterminated before the Coup could take place."

Sakura gave a sharp intake of breath. "Exterminated...no," she mumbled, "That can't...There's no way the Third Hokage would..."

"He agreed to it. With persuasion, of course. He had organised that a single shinobi would dispose of the Uchiha within one evening and then live out the rest of their life as a missing nin, taking full responsibility for the carnage."

Sakura's eyes were wide. With the way she was looking at him, he could see her silently pleading for him to deny everything, to tell her that he was playing a cruel prank.

"And the person whom he assigned to take care of this __task__ ," Itachi said, "was me."

He refused to look Sakura directly in the eye. He knew that reflected there was a mixture of horror, shock, confusion and disgust. After all, he felt the same whenever he remembered accepting such orders. There was a minute of silence before he heard Sakura's trembling voice.

"But you're an Uchiha..."

He heard her unspoken question. __Why ask an Uchiha to kill his clan when he should be on their side?__

"I was not in agreement with my clan," he said. "Neither was my cousin, Shisui."

"You didn't go through with it."

"No, I didn't," he said. "My clan struck before I could carry out my orders."

Sakura's eyes flashed with anger. "That's the reason you didn't do it?! Because you weren't fast enough? What about Sasuke-kun, huh? You were going to," she swallowed, "to kill him too?"

"No." Itachi's voice was sharp. "Sasuke was innocent. He would have been spared."

Sakura didn't seem entirely satisfied with his answer, but she nodded anyway. "I hope so, because I was about to break all of the bones in your body."

Itachi mentally winced at the thought of his body flopping on the ground like a limp noodle as Sakura snapped bone after bone beneath her fingers, healed him, then went back and broke them all again. "Believe me Sakura-san, I would not have harmed a single hair on his head. My goal was not to massacre innocents, but to prevent a civil war." He paused, grimacing. "Clearly, I failed."

Sakura was staring at him with curiosity. "You are a pacifist."

He nodded. "I am also my father's heir. Not just to the clan, but to the position of Hokage." He smiled gently, but not without bitterness. "Sakura-san. Do you remember what I told you yesterday when you asked me why my father will not have you incarcerated?"

"You said that I'm liked by civilians and shinobi, but you never explained."

"It means that you have a lot of allies."

She raised her eyebrow. "Your clan hates me."

He sighed. " _ _Aside__ from my clan, you have many friends in the village. You are responsible for saving many lives, and both civilians and shinobi hold the utmost of respect for you. Should my father have you apprehended or executed, there would be a public outcry. As you know, many lives were lost in the Coup, including lives of some of my clan members. The Uchiha are not infallible. It took a lot of strength to keep outside enemies from taking advantage of the political instability after the Coup.

"If anything were to happen to you, many individuals would not keep quiet – your team, for example. In the case of an unrest, the Uchiha would not find it easy to maintain the control that they already struggle with." He paused before adding, "especially as your teammate is the Kyuubi Jinchurriki."

Sakura scoffed. "The Kyuubi is hardly a threat when the Sharingan can control it."

He shook his head. "Naruto-kun's seal is unique. Even with the Sharingan, there is little we can do to control the Kyuubi so long as his seal is strong and intact."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me that there's no way the Sharingan can bypass it? What about times when the seal is weakened?"

Itachi couldn't hold back a smirk. "There is only one instance in which his particular seal would be weakened."

"Oh?"

"Childbirth."

Sakura froze before releasing a half-hearted laugh. "Yeah...no, I don't think Naruto has anything to worry about there."

"I should hope not," Itachi said.

They fell into a comfortable silence. He could see Sakura trying to process all of this information. As expected, it was a lot to come to terms with.

"And that is why you want to marry me," she said. "You are the heir to the Hokage title, and a marriage with someone like me would be—"

"A symbol of trust," he said. "An offer of peace to the villagers. Ideally, it would make sense to wed a member of the Senju clan, but I'm afraid that there is only one surviving member."

Sakura gave a bitter smile. "Tsunade-shishou is a bit old for you, Uchiha."

"She is certainly ahead of me in years," he said, dryly.

"Actually, she would probably knock you out if you proposed to her. From what I remember, she wasn't too fond of your clan."

"Her feelings are understandable," he replied. "As long as my father is the Hokage, she cannot return to her home." A heavy silence fell between them. When Itachi spoke, his voice was soft but serious. "Sakura-san, you may not be a member of the Senju clan, but you are a disciple of Tsunade and your connections and reputation within the village makes you a strong compromise."

Sakura shuffled over to a nearby rock and perched on the edge of it. "So ultimately, you're asking me to marry you for the sake of peace."

"Yes. I'm aware that this is a lot to ask of you, but given the scene you made yesterday with that patrol officer, I trust that your thoughts toward the current state of the village are the same as mine."

Sakura looked torn. "They are. I want peace, I really do. It's just... I'm not sure."

Itachi expected as much. After all, this was a huge decision for her. At the age of twenty-two, Sakura probably had dreams of falling in love, marrying, and living out the rest of her life happily. And he was asking her to enter a loveless marriage that resembled a business transaction. He would not blame her for feeling torn. It was only human to have personal desires, and Sakura's position would be difficult for anybody.

But part of him wondered if, having lost Shisui and Izumi, he was more prepared to make sacrifices than Sakura was as he had less to lose. Aside from his family, of course. Sasuke, especially.

"Please, take your time to think." he said. "I know that this is not an easy decision to make."

 _ _The hardest decisions are always the most important__ , he thought as the image of Shisui offering up his remaining eye burned in his memory.

* * *

Sakura clutched her pillow and closed her eyes tight as she tried not to think about her conversation with Itachi. The clock on her dresser had turned 2.00am, and she had spent the last four hours attempting to coerce her brain into getting some well-deserved shuteye.

To think that all this time, Uchiha Itachi was, in actuality, a pacifist. She had always thought that he would share his father's beliefs, especially as he was Fugaku's right-hand-man.

But then there was also the issue of the Third Hokage and the elders, and the corruption that lay between them. Yes, Itachi had briefly mentioned that the Third Hokage accepted only with persuasion. Regardless, it was a cruel manoeuvre. She could not imagine what Itachi must have felt when he received orders to assassinate his entire family.

Surely there would have been another way. A compromise with less bloodshed.

 _ _There was another way, remember. Itachi-san said that he and his cousin tried to prevent the Coup themselves. Perhaps it was possible to use whatever method Itachi and his cousin had originally planned.__ __Then there would be no need to marry anybody.__

It was an interesting thought, but from what she knew about Uchiha Itachi, he was a meticulous man. Everything he did was within reason. There must have been an explanation as to why he gave up on his original plan.

She rolled over with a huff and stuck her leg out from under the duvet. It was no use. The sun was going to rise and she would still be tossing and turning in indecision. Although she didn't have to decide just yet. He had made this perfectly clear.

 _ _"There is no rush to make up your mind,"__ he had said. __"If you were to hypothetically take me up on my offer, there would be two possible routes and neither one sparks immediate action."__

He had gone on to explain how they could either marry in secret and wait until after Itachi's Hokage inauguration before revealing their marriage, or they could marry immediately after the inauguration. Either way, they would need to make sure that Fugaku cannot intercept. If they were to marry openly beforehand, it was very likely that Fugaku would find a way to prevent Itachi from becoming Hokage.

 _ _This is all too much.__

It wasn't until the first slivers of dawn peeked over the Hokage mountain that Sakura finally fell asleep.

* * *

Itachi sat on the roof of his family home. The cool night air was refreshing against his skin, but did little to soothe the stale thoughts that ran circles in his head.

He couldn't help but feel guilt at the situation he had put Sakura in. It was true that there was room for compromise. Even so, all other options he had thought of were drawn out and messy. At this point in his life, he was tired. He was tired of fighting battles against his father's ideology. He was tired of politics. If he could avoid complication, he would.

A flicker of chakra registered briefly in his mind, but he paid it very little attention. He had been half-expecting this.

There were footsteps on the roof before Sasuke sat down beside him.

"Can't sleep?" Itachi asked.

"Hn."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sasuke sighed. "What do you want with her?"

Itachi almost smiled. Sasuke would never admit it, but he considered his teammates a second family.

"You told her that the flowers were from me," he said.

"Hn. Why did you even send her flowers anyway? You've never been interested in Sakura."

This time, Itachi chuckled. "That bouquet was going to be the first of many, if you hadn't of given the game away so quickly, baby brother."

"Tell me, what do you actually want with her?"

Itachi paused to think. "I just need her assistance with a certain task. that's all."

Sasuke smirked. "So you were planning on buttering her up before begging for her help? You're lucky she didn't paralyse you from the waist down." Sasuke gave Itachi a pointed look. "Just don't mess around with her," he said.

Itachi knew what he really meant. __Don't hurt her__. Itachi heard a rustle of fabric as Sasuke stood, then climbed back through his bedroom window.

There was a faint click as Sasuke's light went out. Itachi stared at the array of rooftops spread across the new Uchiha District.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke."

* * *

A/N: Haha, I loved reading the reviews from last chapter. Some of you were so taken aback by that little cliffhanger that it made me laugh. I hope this sheds a bit of light on why on earth Itachi would propose to her when they barely know each other. I also tried to touch on Sakura's relationship with Tsunade. I will be developing this side of Sakura's past more, I'm just trying not to give you big information dumps.

takenbyheart \- I understand your concerns for the logistics of how the Coup could have happened, but please don't worry. I have mapped everything out as I've been planning out this story for several months :) Like I said above, I'm not a fan of information dumps, so everything will be revealed as the story progresses, including how the Uchiha have just about managed to keep control in spite of other countries taking advantage.

Thank you all for reading this fanfiction so far xx


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Four

Sakura slumped, exhausted, against the door of the on-call room. She had just emerged from a long surgery involving many complications. The patient had lost an incredible amount of blood, and Sakura was surprised that he was still alive when his team carried him in. He almost hadn't made it, and he had to be defibrillated twice. But for now, at least, his condition was stable. However, Sakura felt extremely unstable on her feet.

Her chakra was dwindling, and her legs felt like jelly. She staggered to the small couch that filled up most of the room, and threw herself down on to the faded fabric. Resting her head on the arm of the couch, she closed her eyes. She knew already that she wouldn't get any sleep. Whenever she was in the hospital she was always on high-alert. At any point a doctor or nurse could throw open the door to the on-call room and ask for assistance.

And there was also the issue with Uchiha Itachi.

 _To marry or not to marry, that is the question._

Rolling over, she snuggled deeper into the couch. At times like these, she wished that Tsunade was here. Her shishou would probably give her advice. She remembered evenings spent sitting in booths with Tsunade beside her. Tsunade's cheeks would redden and she would rant and rave about the Third Hokage and her old team. Sometimes, she would forego a cup and just drink the sake straight from the bottle. Sakura smiled at the memories that flooded her mind. Tsunade's advice was always bizarre and alcohol-fuelled, but she was always a good listener.

A thought struck her. It went without saying that her business with Itachi had to be kept secret. But perhaps there was a way she could get some advice without actually giving away any details. Sakura smirked. She knew exactly whom she could talk to.

* * *

Once her shift was over and her chakra replenished, Sakura left the hospital. She kept her head down as she made her way through the village. The sun was just beginning to set and the streets were half-empty. Although there was no clock, alarm or signal, everybody knew when curfew was approaching. After curfew, if you did not have a pass indicating that you were working or on official business, then you could be apprehended. She had seen it happen from her apartment window.

When the gates of the Yamanaka district came into view, she slowed. As usual, two guards were stationed on either side of the gates, and stretched across the entrance was a complex web of chakra. This system monitored who entered and exited the clan district. If anyone went in and didn't come back out, or vice versa, the guards – usually sensory-type shinobi – would be alerted immediately. When this system was put into place, Fugaku claimed that it was for the sake of security and preventing intruders. But Sakura knew that it was a means of preventing inter-clan scheming.

Even though Sakura did not come from a clan, she was very familiar with this system due to her visits to Ino's house. Last time she and Ino tried to have a sleepover, they were awoken in the dead of the night by the sound of a guard pounding his fist on the front door.

As Sakura neared the gates, she glanced at the guards and stepped into the web of chakra. The chakra brushed across her skin, leaving a trail of tingling warmth. It felt similar to a mild electric current against her bare arms. Soon enough it was over, and Sakura was stood just inside the entrance to the Yamanaka district.

One of the guards looked at her over his shoulder. "You have twenty minutes," he said.

She gave him a curt nod, "I understand."

The Yamanaka district was quiet as Sakura hurried down the winding streets. Aside from her footsteps, the only noise was the chirrup of crickets. As she approached Ino's house, she paused. The lights were on, so somebody was home. She just hoped that it was Ino and not her mother. Even though it had never been said directly to her face, she got the feeling that Ino's mother had never truly forgiven her for the sleepover incident.

Sakura knocked on the door. She heard the muffled sound of footsteps before the door opened. When Yamanaka Inoichi's face appeared, she almost sighed in relief. It had been a while since she had visited Ino's house, and she had forgotten how similar Ino looked to her father. Inoichi's blue eyes were as bright as his daughters, and his blonde hair fell to his hip, the ends brushing the clothed stump of his left arm.

"Sakura," he said with a gentle smile.

Sakura bowed. "Good evening, Inoichi-san. I'm sorry for disturbing you at this time."

"You are always a welcome presence here," he said. "Let me guess, Ino?"

"She's in?"

He nodded. "She is just upstairs in her room. Of course, you already know the way." He stepped back, allowing her to enter.

Sakura slipped into the entrance hall and removed her sandals. "Thank you," she said. "I promise I won't be long. There won't be a repeat of that time..."

Inoichi shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Sakura. It is in the past." He paused. "Although I must ask, is it possible for me to drop by your office some time?"

Sakura frowned. "Is everything alright?"

He raised his hand in reassurance. "I'm quite alright," he replied, then gestured to the stump of his left arm. "It's just that my scars have been itchy recently. I'm wondering if perhaps something has irritated them."

She took a step forward. "I can have a quick look now if you like?"

"No, please," he said, shaking his head. "It can wait." He nodded at the stairs behind her. "You don't have much time."

Sakura felt guilty leaving him without examining his scars. "Feel free to stop by the hospital tomorrow or any other time you like. It's no trouble, really," she said, before ascending the stairs. Stopping outside of Ino's bedroom, she rapped her knuckles on the door.

There was a faint "who is it?"

"Take a guess," Sakura said.

What followed was thud of feet and a bang as the door was yanked open. Ino's blue eyes glinted at the sight of Sakura. "Forehead! Get in here, it's been ages!"

Ino's long fingers grasped Sakura's forearm, dragging her into the bedroom. It had been quite a while since she had visited Ino. Months, in fact. It wasn't out of choice. After the Coup she had lived in a room pre-paid by the Hokage and Council, just like Naruto. But when she managed to accumulate enough of her hospital and mission wages, she moved to a rented apartment. Unfortunately, she had to take on extra shifts at the hospital in order to pay the rent. Her friendship with Ino had suffered as a result.

Ino's bedroom had matured since the last time she was here. The pale lilac walls had been re-painted a bold violet and the faux-fur rug stained with nail polish in the centre of the room was gone.

Ino was grinning so wide that her ears were in danger of disappearing. "Forehead, where've you been?" She grabbed Sakura's hands and inspected her bitten fingernails. "Look at your nails! I thought I taught you how to take care of them properly—"

"Pig, as much as I love you to bits, I don't have time."

Ino pouted. "I know, I'm sorry."

Sakura pulled Ino down to the bedroom floor. As children, they had always sat on Ino's floor, giving each other makeovers. It had become habitual to sit in the same place on the floor.

"So, what's up?" Ino asked. "Something's bothering you. Your forehead seems to sparkle whenever you're upset."

Sakura snorted. "Oh shut up." she said. "But you're right. I need advice on something."

"Fire away."

"So...I can't really go into detail," Sakura began. She had to be cautious about this. As much as she trusted Ino with her life, she just couldn't take any risks. "Imagine a hypothetical situation," she continued, "in which somebody asked you to make a difficult choice. This person wants you to give up your personal dreams for the sake of something bigger, and you can either agree with them or you can choose to be selfish."

Ino was staring at her curiously. "Okaay... well that's bizarre."

Sakura hummed in agreement. "It is. It's ridiculous."

"They want you to sacrifice your own interests for the sake of something bigger," Ino murmured, nodding. There was silence as Ino mulled things over. "It's a tough cookie, Forehead. I wouldn't blame anybody for choosing to pursue their own dreams. It's human nature to be selfish to a degree. But I have to ask, this hypothetical person... are they pressuring you into anything?"

Sakura thought for a moment. "Not really. They are also under pressure themselves, but they want me to choose for myself. They're just hoping that I will agree with them."

"Sakura." Ino's voice was quiet and solemn. "I have a really bad feeling about this. I know we keep saying that it's hypothetical, but it's not, is it? Please tell me you're not thinking of doing anything dangerous."

 _I'm not sure whether it's dangerous or not. Is it dangerous? Perhaps. It all depends on Fugaku's reaction, or whether or not we are discovered._

"Don't worry. It's not as dangerous as it sounds." Sakura hated lying through her teeth, especially to those closest to her. But she couldn't have Ino worried for her, could she?

Ino nodded. "I hope so, because I almost lost my dad when he rebelled. I'm not going to risk losing you too."

Sakura leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her best friend. Ino squeezed her back just as tightly. It was during moments like this that she couldn't help but wonder if she and Ino had been sisters in a previous life.

"I'm not going anywhere, Pig," Sakura said, pulling away from the hug. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

Ino wrinkled her nose. "Yep, you're like a disease." When Sakura lightly punched her shoulder, Ino winced. "Okay, okay! You're not a disease. Just please don't punch me again with those gorilla arms."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched. "Gorilla arms?"

"Ahem! Getting back to the topic," Ino said, "Your problem and this mysterious figure who holds mysterious choices."

Sakura nodded, listening in earnest.

"Like I said before, this is a tough one. But since there is a person who is offering this choice, it means that it's not set in stone. In other words, could you not find a way to negotiate?"

Sakura blinked. "Negotiate?"

"Yes, Forehead, negotiation. This person is making the offer, but is there not a way to change the rules? So you could find a way to negotiate so that you're not sacrificing _everything_ , just some things."

Sakura silently thought this over. It was unbelievable that she hadn't already thought of this. No, a marriage with Itachi wouldn't be ideal; she barely knew him. Although, if she were to talk with him and work out some compromises, perhaps they could actually have a comfortable marriage.

" _Or_ , you could just do the exact opposite and say 'greater good, be damned' and just be selfish."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You know I wouldn't be able to do that. It's not right, morally."

Ino smiled. "I know, you're such a do-gooder Forehead. You're too nice, it's creepy."

There was a knock on the bedroom door. Inoichi's deep voice could be heard from the other side. "I hate to interrupt, but Sakura it's time."

The two girls stood, and Ino pulled Sakura into one last hug. She couldn't believe that the time had gone so fast, and being here with Ino now, she realised just how much she had missed her.

Ino drew back and put on a cheerless grin. "Next time, come and visit earlier in the day so we get longer than ten minutes. Actually, scratch that, I'll drop into your office at random. Whenever I get the chance, and not just when I need healing."

Sakura nodded. "Please do. I don't always get time off, so if I don't come and visit you soon then you know where to find me."

Inoichi knocked again. This time he did not speak, but the message was clear as day.

 _My time's up._

"See you soon, Pig."

Ino pushed her friend toward the door. In the hallway outside, Inoichi was hovering nervously. "Remember, Sakura," Ino said. "This person might have set up the game, but you can still change the rules."

Sakura thanked her. With newfound determination, she exited the Yamanaka household.

* * *

 _Itachi stares at the eye glistening with blood in Shisui's palm. Shisui is smiling, and two red tracks drip from his closed eyes. The blood smells of metal, of rust. It has never bothered Itachi before, but now the scent is invasive._

 _"_ _You're the only friend I can count on. Protect the village and the Uchiha name. Both of them"_

 _There is a flap of wings and a rustle of leaves as a large crow emerges from the woods behind them. It circles before slowing to a halt inches away from Shisui's hand. In a burst of shiny black feathers the crow disappears along with the eye. Itachi doesn't want to look. He knows what comes next. He has seen this many times before. But he cannot turn away. His body doesn't seem to obey his commands._

 _"_ _If I die, many things will change." Shisui backs away slowly. His feet are mere centimetres from the edge of the cliff face. His voice is quiet against the roar of the waterfall behind him. "I've already left a note."_

 _Itachi's stomach drops. He feels nausea bubbling inside him and all he wants is to close his eyes. They remain open. Staring. Even as Shisui's feet graze the edge of the cliff. The words are ripped from his throat before he realises that they are his words._

" _Shisui, wait!"_

 _"_ _Don't try and stop me, Itachi." Shisui's body tumbles over the edge._

 _Itachi leaps forward, stretching out to grasp Shisui's shirt, his wrist, anything that could be used to haul him up._

" _Shisui!"_

Itachi shot up in bed. His skin was clammy and hot, and his pyjama pants were sticking to him. He stared at the geometric pattern on his duvet as he focused on controlling his breathing.

This was the third time this week that he had been tormented by this particular memory. Well, he had always been haunted by it. But never in such detail. Never with such _realism_. He closed his eyes, pressing them tight. The wet crunch of Shisui's body hitting the rocks beneath the waterfall rang in his ears. His chest ached as behind his eyelids, he saw the body, limp as a rag doll, drifting down the river. He saw the trail of blood in the water from Shisui's crushed skull.

"Uchiha-sama?"

He grabbed a kunai from under his pillow as he whirled around to face the window...only to see a slug. A very large, grey slug that was leaving a pool of slime on his windowsill. His heart pounded, nerves on fire, as he stared at it for a minute. It was only when he noticed the folded note tied to its body that he put his kunai away. Of course it was a summon. An intruder would not likely refer to him as Uchiha- _sama._

"Uchiha-sama, I'm sorry for the disturbance."

He shook his head. "I should be the one to apologise. It was a mistake to raise my kunai at you," he said, getting out of bed and walking to the window.

The slug curled inwards and lowered its head. Itachi wasn't too knowledgeable about the body language of slugs, but he could only describe its behaviour as...bashful?

The slug's feelers rubbed together nervously. Much to his confusion, it seemed to be staring at his stomach. "My mistress sends you a message."

Itachi untied the note from the slug's body, raising his eyebrow the slug quivered under his fingertips. When the note was finally free, the slug curled into a spiral. "I m-must go now. G-good day, Uchiha-sama."

The slug disappeared in a puff of smoke before Itachi could respond. He shook his head in disbelief. Sakura certainly had chosen a strange slug to summon. He lowered his gaze to the note in his hand. Unfolding the paper, he read the words scribbled in black ink on the page.

 _Uchiha Itachi-san,_

 _Meet me at the dango shop opposite the green grocers at 11.00am. I trust you know where to find it. Sasuke tells me that you have an obsession with Dango. I have some things I want to discuss about your proposal._

 _S._

Itachi frowned at her messy doctor's scrawl. He had to read it several times before he understood all of the words.

 _Did she write this with her feet?_

According to the clock on his wall, he had five hours before Sakura wanted to meet with him. This left him enough time for a quick training session and some paperwork before he needed to set off for the dango shop.

As he turned to the wardrobe to get dressed, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror on his wall. It was now clear why the slug had behaved in such an odd manner.

He was devoid of a shirt, and due to his nightmare, a film of sweat coated his skin.

* * *

Sakura almost dropped the vial of poison in her hand as her slug summon appeared, quivering on her desk. She had sent out Cho, Katsuyu's young niece, at the crack of dawn with a note for Itachi. Cho had been fine then, but now the poor thing was jittering. She set down the vial of poison and removed her safety goggles.

"Cho-chan, did something happen? Did my message get through alright?"

The slug nodded, a little too enthusiastic. "Y-yes, Uchiha Itachi-sama received your message, mistress!"

Sakura frowned, reaching out with healing chakra to touch the slug's body. "You're not injured, but you seem so shaken..."

"Thank you for your kindness, but I am quite alright. If you please, I must go. Katsuyu-sama is calling me."

Sakura nodded, unsure. "Of course, Cho-chan. Give my regards to Katsuyu-sama, and please," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "ask Katsuyu to let me know how my shishou is doing?"

Cho inclined her head. "I will, mistress. Have a good day."

When the slug puffed out of the lab, Sakura blinked in confusion. Cho was a very young summon, and she had only been used for delivering messages as she was not yet ready for battle. Sakura had a feeling that Itachi must have intimidated her in some way.

She made a mental note to confront Itachi about it later on. Putting her safety goggles back on, she continued to work on creating an antidote to several new poisons that was currently threatening the lives of an Anbu team. After the Coup, the political instability of the village became an advantage to neighbouring countries who wanted to attack. However, physical attacks were difficult, partially due to Fugaku's security system, but also because the Uchiha clan had made losses during the Coup. Naturally, such losses only resulted in the awakening of many Mangekyou Sharingan. With so many Uchiha possessing such skilled dojutsu, physical attacks on the village were few and far between.

Biological attacks, on the other hand, were a far more common threat. Sakura's skill in poisons meant that she was allowed to work on formulating antidotes, even if she wasn't trusted with much else.

As the morning wore on, she repeatedly glanced at the clock, anxious to step away from work and catch a break. In order to meet Itachi, she had convinced a nurse to swap shifts. The nurse was all too happy to comply, leaving Sakura with the graveyard shift.

When the clock finally hit 10.40am, Sakura put her safety goggles down with a sigh. She was finally free. For now. She would still have to come back to do that godawful graveyard shift. But at least she would be able to feel some sunlight on her face. She put away her equipment and changed into her regular clothes before leaving the hospital.

When she reached the dango shop, Itachi was already there. He was sitting at a table in the corner, away from prying ears. A plate of hanami dango was set in front of him. He poured green tea from a cast-iron teapot into two cups. Of course, he already knew that she was there.

She sidled up to the table and sat opposite him, taking the second cup.

"Sakura-san," he greeted.

"Itachi-san."

He sipped at his tea. "You wanted to meet about our arrangement."

Sakura nodded. "Yes. But first I'm hungry for some dumplings. I'm usually stuck at work during lunch hours." Signalling to a waitress, Sakura ordered a portion of chadango. She ignored the way that the waitress' gaze flickered between her and Itachi. When the waitress left to attend to her order, Sakura leaned forward, folding her hands under her chin – a trait she had inherited from Tsunade.

"I think you broke my slug summon."

Itachi delicately raised a eyebrow. "I don't know what you mean."

"Then, pray tell, why did she return to me trembling like she'd just been held at knifepoint? She's only young, you know, she's not used to this stuff. You didn't have to intimidate her."

"I did nothing of the sort." Sakura gave him a pointed look, and he sighed. "I tend to get very warm in the night. I usually do not sleep with a shirt on."

Sakura wasn't sure how to react. But then her cheeks started to heat up. It was a well known fact that Itachi was strong. According to Sasuke, he trained vigorously every morning without fail. Even though he was lean and tall, he probably had a lot of muscle hidden under his charcoal grey shirt. No wonder Cho was so shy. As she stared at Itachi, she noticed that he didn't seem particularly bothered by the issue. In fact, his expression was stone cold—

O _h wait, he's glaring at me._

She flinched, almost spilling her tea. His eyes were slightly narrowed and glinting with irritation. It was almost unnoticeable to the average person, but Sakura was used to Sasuke's behaviour. The two brothers, whilst very different in many respects, were not wholly dissimilar.

 _He's looking at me like he wants to burn me alive with his katon-jutsu._

Sakura nervously glugged down her tea. She almost groaned in relief when the waitress re-emerged with Sakura's plate of dumplings. After thanking the waitress, Sakura took a moment to collect herself. She cleared her throat.

"Okay, back to the reason why I wanted to talk to you."

He nodded. She took a deep breath and swallowed.

"I accept."

He seemed mildly surprised. "You accept? I expected you to decline." Sakura gave him a puzzled look and he added, "Sasuke talks about you sometimes. He says that you are stubborn and hot headed."

Sakura clenched her jaw.

 _Ignore it, ignore it..._

"Yes," she said "I accept your proposal...on one condition."

"Go on..."

"I have some requests. But more importantly, I also have several questions." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Questions about the Coup, and about your cousin, and your original plan for peace."

Itachi tensed.

"I want to know what happened fifteen years ago."

* * *

A/N: You have no idea how long it took me to write and edit this chapter. I wanted Itachi's dream/memory of Shisui to be as accurate as possible so, being the stubborn little shit that I am, I went rooting through canon. It nearly killed me.

But if you enjoyed the chapter, then it's worth the time and effort! Some of you wanted to see more of this AU and how the Uchiha clan have maintained control, so I hope this shed some light on this AU.

Let me know in the reviews what you think of the chapter and what you want to see more of :)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Five

Itachi tensed.

"I want to know what happened fifteen years ago"

He wasn't surprised. He had suspected that Sakura would ask at some point. As he was already requesting a great deal of her help, it made sense that she would wish to understand every detail of the events leading up to the Coup. When he had proposed to her, he had just barely scraped the skin of the topic. There was so much that he had left out. It shouldn't have been an issue. Not really, since she deserved to know. But it meant that he'd have to tell her about Shisui, along with certain memories that he much preferred to keep buried in the past. Because of this, he couldn't help but resist a little.

"I already told you about that," he said, coolly.

She took a bite of dango and shook her head. Judging by the calmness of her movements, she was confident and prepared for this reaction. "Hardly," she replied. "I want to know what you had originally planned and why it failed."

"That does not—"

"Oh, it matters. Let's be honest here, a marriage is not going to solve the problems in the village. Fugaku will obviously go against everything you stand for as Hokage, and the rest of your clan will hardly want to obey any new laws you put in." She paused as she looked at him with determination. "I want to know what you've already tried. It's inevitable that we're going to run into problems, so I need understand the situation inside and out in order to counter those problems when they come."

"You are missing the point, Sakura-san." He sipped his tea. "First of all, the marriage would not be a solution. It would be a symbol. The problems of the village will take a long time to resolve. I will have to form alliances with neighbouring countries, as well as forming agreements with each of the clans residing in the village. The marriage would simply become a sign of trust to the villagers. I am the son of the man who is responsible for many deaths and who stole the title of Hokage. The villagers are unlikely to place their trust in me because of this." He paused to give her a pointed look. Her eyes were large and bright as she took in his words. "But you, on the other hand, they know and trust. No matter what my father and the rest of the clan throws at us to stop me from changing my father's regime, the majority of the village will side with you."

Sakura nodded slowly, mulling over his words. He watched her placidly. Although he did not show it, he was keeping his senses on high alert. They could not risk eavesdroppers who could relay this information to his father.

 _ _Perhaps it was a bad idea to meet in such a public place.__

Chewing on the inside of her lip, Sakura looked at him. "So, since you've agreed to tell me what happened—"

"I agreed to nothing." He lifted a stick of dango to his mouth.

"You _will_ agree," she insisted. "I know you can show me everything."

He froze mid-bite. "Show you?"

Sakura squirmed in her seat. "I hate the idea, it's true. But I know you can use that technique."

He put his dango back on his plate. A memory of Sakura, bloodied and strapped to a chair in one of Konoha's interrogation cells, flashed in the back of his mind. "I don't think that's a good idea."

She ran her hand through her hair. "I know. But I need to know everything. I need you to show me."

He stared at her silently as she begged him with her large green eyes to use Tsukuyomi on her. It was a terrible idea. But her insistence was certainly a surprise; he had seen the long-lasting effects of Tsukuyomi on its victims, and Sakura was all too familiar with these effects. After all, it did not escape his notice that she refused to say the word, 'Tsukuyomi', instead preferring to talk about it vaguely. The thought of using it on her, knowing that she has suffered under it before, made his stomach churn. But it was what she wanted.

He owed her this much.

"Very well," he said, finally.

Sakura's face broke out into a relieved grin. "For a minute there I thought I was going to have to torture you into agreeing."

Itachi's pulse jittered a little. The way she said the word 'torture' was too cavalier, as though she were ignorant of what his eyes could do. Of course, she was anything but.

"However," he said, "if I am to show you my memories, it will have to be in a private and secure location."

Sakura nodded. "Of course. That goes without saying. I'll be working most of the night tonight, so perhaps tomorrow?"

He thought it over. If he were to finish his paperwork as soon as possible, and provided that there were no last minute meetings with the Uchiha elders, he could manage it. "I will visit your apartment late tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night it is then!" Sakura beamed at him. Itachi wasn't entirely comfortable with her cheery aura. It was a little too happy. "Now that's out of the way, I have some more questions."

He mentally groaned. If she had just managed to talk him into using the Tsukuyomi on her against both of their better judgement, who knew what else she had in store?

* * *

As soon as she mentioned having more questions, Itachi began to stare at her intently. It was not overtly malicious or unfriendly, but instead it was as though he wanted her to feel uncomfortable. There was just something about his eyes, shining and dangerous. She repressed a shudder.

 _ _I swear he's doing this intentionally.__

"Erm..." she began, "M-my first ques..." She shook her head, exasperated. "Are you doing that on purpose?"

"Doing what, Sakura-san?" The amused slant to his lips told her that yes, he was perfectly aware of his actions.

"You know what," she hissed. "The way you stare at people. It's weird and creepy."

He frowned. "I'm weird and creepy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Forget I said anything."

"Would you rather I turn my chair around so that you do not have to look at me?"

For one second, Sakura thought she had misheard him.

 _ _He's joking around...Uchiha Itachi is actually making jokes?__

She had always been under the impression that Itachi was a serious man with deadly skill who had no time for play or laughter. Sasuke had commented that his brother was a workaholic, and often missed out on spending time with family and friends (if he had any). Even though she had resolved to go through with Itachi's proposition, she had braced herself for a cold marriage in which they were practically strangers. But at this moment, as he was looking at her with mirth in his eyes from across the table, Sakura realised that there was far more to Uchiha Itachi than she had originally thought.

 _Perhaps this marriage won't actually be so bad after all. Maybe we can even become friends._

"You are the one who is staring, Sakura-san."

His voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," she said, "it doesn't matter. But that's another of my requests, you know. I want to get to know you better so that we're not just strangers. So you've got to stop calling me 'Sakura-san'. It's just so formal."

He tilted his head in curiosity. "You would rather I drop the honorifics?"

"Please. Just 'Sakura' is better."

He hesitated for a few seconds. "Very well, 'Just Sakura'."

 _ _Is he for real?__

She had to push down the urge to press her face into her palms as a way of hiding her flushed cheeks. He sounded like a leading male character from one of the teen-romance novels she used to read. It was cringeworthy. Embarrasing.

"Sakura," she insisted, "and no honorific."

"If that is the case, you should also drop your honorifics."

Sakura mentally sighed in relief. He was at least cooperating, and whilst his jokes were embarrassing, she was glad that he wasn't stiff and boring like a cardboard cut-out.

"Well then," she said. "Itachi. I have some questions."

"Go ahead...Sakura."

Itachi leaned forward ever so slightly in his seat, and Sakura knew that she had his attention.

"I want to know whether this engagement is set in stone. It isn't a real marriage – it's based on politics. So where exactly do you stand on the topic of fidelity?"

"You want my permission to have an affair?" he said, bemused.

"I don't mean it that way. Say, sometime in the future, if I meet somebody and fall in love, would I be able to—"

"Of course," he said. "In such a case, we would divorce and I would hold nothing against you. I am not so petty as to deny you that much."

Sakura nodded firmly. It was looking good. At least she would be able to continue on with her life should she meet that special somebody. It was a compromise. This way, everybody wins.

"Good," she said. "I didn't think you were petty or anything, but usually old clans are very traditional about things like marriage and divorce."

"I am hardly representative of my clan, Sakura."

That's true. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here, talking about this right now.

"My second question is purely out of curiosity," she began slowly. "Usually in traditional clans, especially when it comes to the heirs, arranged marriages are pretty commonplace." Sakura wasn't sure if she was just imagining things, but she could have sworn that Itachi's gaze hardened for a fraction of a second. "Would this not cause a disruption of some kind?"

His answer was immediate and curt. "There is no disruption."

Sakura sensed that the topic was a pool of lava and she was balancing precariously on a rock. But she had to be sure. The last thing she wanted to do was break some poor girl's heart.

"So just to be clear, you don't you have a fiancé betrothed to you?"

"I did."

The words were cold. Final. The topic was to be discussed no more.

* * *

When Sakura brought up the topic of arranged marriages, he decided to cut things short. There was no need for Sakura to hear the specifics of his relationship with Izumi. She had passed. What more could be said? Sakura seemed to have sensed his detachment from the subject as she fidgeted in her chair.

 _ _She feels that she has crossed a line, he surmised as he watched her anxiously knotting her fingers. Perhaps I was a little cool towards her.__

"You mentioned that you have some requests, aside from your questions." he said.

Her head shot up and her voice trembled a little as she spoke, but he saw a glimpse of relief in her eyes. She seemed to have realised that he was not angry with her. "I do," she said. "Well my first request was about the honorifics, as you already know. But I have one more request. It's kind of about my teammate. I'm assuming you already know of Naruto."

Of course he did. The jinchurikki followed his baby brother around like a golden retriever. He was a loud mouthed attention-seeker, and if it weren't for the boy's father, the late Fourth Hokage, Naruto would have had his tailed beast ripped from him. The seal used by the Fourth Hokage to lock the nine tails within Naruto was so complex and unique, that even the Uchiha clan were unable to break through it in order to control the nine tails. Heaven knows they had tried. Whilst it wasn't an ideal means of power, Fugaku begrudgingly compromised by allowing Naruto to train as a Konoha shinobi. At least that way, Naruto himself could be used as a tool provided that over time he was taught to harness the power of the nine tails.

As for what Sakura would ask of him, it was obvious, especially considering how often Naruto shouted and raved about it.

"When you are Hokage," she said. "I want you to make him your successor for the title."

 _ _As expected__.

"Very well," he said. "However, in order to become a true Hokage, your teammate should understand that he will have to gain the acknowledgement and respect of everybody in the village."

Sakura blinked slowly and a look of mild irritation passed over her face. "You're hardly one to talk. Civilians and shinobi are terrified of you and you're still next in line for the Hokage position."

"My father did not achieve the title of Hokage by being acknowledged, Sakura. He took it by force."

"Oh believe me, I'm well aware."

Itachi had to remind himself to have patience. "Tell me, Sakura. In a game of shogi, what is the fate of a king without the support of his men?"

It did not take her long to come to a conclusion. He knew that she was intelligent, and the answer to his question was obvious.

"Vulnerability and then death," she answered. "Whilst the king can move solo, his true strength comes from the support of his soldiers. Without them, he will inevitably lose."

He smiled at her. "My father's pillar of support is the Uchiha clan. He is not entirely vulnerable," he said. "But the clan only accounts for a small percentage of Konoha's overall population. And so the point remains the same; without the full support of his soldiers, the king will fall."

* * *

Sakura's mind was reeling as she plodded back to her apartment. She was well aware that Itachi was a tactical prowess, but after her meeting with him, she wearily concluded that he must see the whole world as a giant shogi board.

She didn't have to go back to the hospital to cover the overnight shift for several hours. This meant that if she could get her brain to stop bouncing all over the walls of her skull with thoughts of Itachi, she would be able to catch a few hours of sleep.

Suddenly, a human-shaped mass collided into her as a pair of arms were thrown around her shoulders. Sakura's fingers twitched in the direction of her kunai holster, but then she recognised the chakra.

"Sakura-chan!"

 _ _I guess I should say goodbye to the chance of rest and sleep then.__

Naruto squeezed her tight as he clung to her like a lost child. His clothes smelled like summer rain and ramen. Behind them, there was a trudge of footsteps accompanied by a calmer, cooler chakra.

 _ _Sasuke-kun.__

Detangling herself from Naruto's arms, she laughed. "Okay, Okay I need to breathe. Let me go."

He pulled away, grinning. "The bastard and I have been looking for you everywhere. We went to your office but you weren't there."

She rubbed her head sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I swapped shifts so I'm working tonight instead of this afternoon."

"Heh, in that case do you wanna get some ramen with us?"

She raised an eyebrow. "That junk is salty enough to send you to an early grave." She remembered the dango she had just had with Itachi. "Plus, I've already eaten."

"No fair." He pulled a childish face "Please Sakura-chan! It's not the same without you."

Sasuke finally spoke. "Leave her alone, Idiot. Perhaps she doesn't want ramen." In a softer tone he added, "we're meeting with Kakashi at Ichiraku's soon. You don't have to come along if you don't want to, but you could get some sake even if you're not hungry."

Sakura smiled. She could read Sasuke like he was an extension of her. He would never directly invite her, and from the outside his way of regarding her would seem cold, but she knew better.

Sighing, she inclined her head. "Fine then," she said. It was barely noticeable, but something in Sasuke's eyes lit up. Before Naruto could grab her elbow and drag her to Ichiraku's, she added, "but only if Naruto's paying."

"What?" Naruto pouted. "You're so mean sometimes, Sakura-chan..."

It had been a while since she last joined her team at Ichiraku's. And as Sakura walked through the village with her boys on either side of her, she realised that perhaps some time with her team was just what she needed today.

* * *

On the other side of the one-way mirror, the Kiri shinobi writhed and coiled. His forehead and upper lip glistened with sweat. His wrists and ankles were bound to a steel chair by ropes threaded with strings of chakra. Although the interrogation department did have have leather and metal bindings at their disposal, the interrogation officers preferred traditional ropes; every time the Kiri shinobi grimaced and strained against his bindings, the ropes scraped at his skin.

In the observation room, Itachi watched on. The sight of blood matted on the ropes made his chest ache uncomfortably. Itachi vaguely acknowledged the door opening.

"Uchiha-Itachi sama." A young interrogation officer holding a clipboard approached him. "We discovered him attempting to infiltrate the village, sir. He had a long-distance mic attached to the inside of his collar and he was lingering outside of the Hokage's office, disguised as a guard."

Itachi tried to dismiss the way his stomach churned. The shinobi was young. Inexperienced. But still brainwashed enough to resist spilling under interrogation. Considering that his mission was to infiltrate the Hokage Tower, the Mizukage probably considered him expendable. After all, to infiltrate a building filled with Konoha's strongest surviving members of the Uchiha clan was a suicide mission.

He wondered if the Kiri shinobi was aware that he was not expected to return from this mission. He also wondered how the shinobi would react if someone were to tell him this.

Itachi did not answer the interrogation officer beside him. Instead he silently watched as the officers in the interrogation chamber inflicted countless genjutsu in combination with physical blows. He tried not to show his distaste at how the officers grinned every time the shinobi groaned.

"We have tried to extract information from him about the intentions of the Mizukage, but it seems that his tongue has been sealed."

Now this caught Itachi's interest.

"Sealed?"

The officer nodded. "Yes, it seems that whenever he tries to reveal information, his throat begins to close up. His throat muscles only relax when he decides against speaking."

Itachi did not like the sound of this at all. He'd only seen a seal similar to this once before. It was at over fifteen years ago when, as an Anbu captain, he was introduced to a group of shinobi working for Konoha's underground defence.

No. He did not like this one bit.

Before leaving the room, he took one last look at the Kiri shinobi. He swallowed at the memory of Sakura – blood in her pink hair and mouth twisted in pain – as she was strapped to the same steel chair.

* * *

A/N: Did you really think Itachi would just tell Sakura about the past so easily? You're going to have to wait until the next chapter ;)

I want to apologise for taking longer than usual to update. Several of my files seem to have become corrupted or damaged and I lost some of my fanfiction drafts. This is the same reason why I haven't yet been able to update my other fic, Haunted. If there are some grammar mistakes or typos in this chapter, please let me know because I've sort of rushed through the chapter.

luctz36 \- The tension between Sakura and Ino's mother is due to how last time Sakura stayed at Ino's and officers came to investigate in the middle of the night. Naturally, Ino's mother would want to avoid any form of trouble with the officers. As for the relationship between Sakura and Tsunade, I've been developing their relationship through tidbits of information about how they met and why they can no longer communicate with one-another. I'm not a big fan of using massive sections of flashback which is why I'm developing it this way. But of course, the exception to the flashback thing is Itachi's showing Sakura his memories through genjutsu as well as Itachi's nightmares. Thank you for reading the fic! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

RansomeNote \- Yep, there's definitely a lingering attachment to Izumi going on there. I imagine that canon Itachi probably felt something similar when he had to kill her. If he used his Tsukuyomi to put her in a romantic genjutsu then she must've been an important figure in his life. There would be a lot of lingering feelings there, especially feelings of guilt. I'm happy that you're liking this fic :)

Thank you to everyone for all your kind comments! It means a lot


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Six

The bedroom was lit only by the waning moon and two candles on the bedside table. Sakura was sitting on the edge of her bed, scrunching up her bare toes into the carpet. She shivered in the cool breeze from the open window as she unconsciously picked at the raw skin of her cuticles. She had felt fine all day. Confident. But as the afternoon fell into evening, a dull sense of dread wedged its way into her heart.

 _It's just Itachi_ , she reminded herself for the umpteenth time, _he's not going to do anything to hurt me._

Even so, the thought of _that_ technique made her skin crawl.

 _No_ , _Sakura. Don't give into fear._

Standing, she made her way to the door. The hallway was cold, and as she entered the living room, she took a sharp breath.

He was already here.

His silhouette lurked in the corner of the living room, slim and dark. As he stepped towards her, he turned on a lamp. The light hit his face at an odd angle. One half of his face was cast orange in the glow, whilst the rest of his features were masked in shadows. His expression was blank.

"You're earlier than I thought you'd be," she said.

"I finished my work earlier than usual." A pause. "Sakura, do you always sit around in the dark?"

She shrugged. "It's a waste to keep lights on when I'm not in a room," she said. "But you're not here to talk about lights."

"No. I'm not." She heard him take a slow, deep breath. "Are you sure that this is what you want?"

She looked him directly in the eye. "I'm sure."

He did not answer. Before she could even so much as blink, she saw three swirling tomoes morph into three jagged spikes and her heart jumped in her chest and she stumbled backwards.

 _Calm down Sakura, he's not going to hurt you. You need to calm down._

She vaguely registered a hand holding the back of her head and a calm voice reminding her that she is safe. But this was forgotten as she was sucked into a world of red, orange and black.

* * *

 _A hot summer wind blows across Itachi's neck as he crouches, clad in full Anbu gear, on the roof of a weapons shop. He watches the scene below with caution. Two men are wrestling on the ground, drunkenly aiming their fists at one another. From their attire, he knows that they are civilians. With two hard punches, an tooth skids across the dust._

 _"Someone!" A civilian woman waves her arms amidst the crowd around her. Itachi recognises her as the owner of the weapons shop. "Police! Anybody!"_

 _Itachi considers intervening, but three chakra signatures are fast approaching and unlike Itachi, the Uchiha to whom these signatures belong to are actually police officers. Within seconds, his father, Uchiha Fugaku, flanked by two clansmen appears on the scene. They push their way through the crowd. Fugaku waves the audience away, whilst the other two officers grab the shoulders of the fighting men._

 _One of the men is cuffed almost immediately. But as an officer places the cuffs around the other man's wrists, he shrugs himself free and swings his fist in a wide ark. It misses, naturally._

 _"Goddamn Uchiha!" he yells. "Get the hell out of here!"_

 _The officer catches his wrist and twists it, and with his other hand, he grabs the man's jaw and holds his face inches away from his own. "Say that again," the officer hisses, his Sharingan burning. "I dare you. Say it."_

 _Despite being cuffed, constrained and face to face with the Sharingan, the civilian man scoffs with a mouth full of blood. "Don't give me that shit. You can stop acting so self-righteous. We all know who was responsible for the nine tails attack."_

 _The officer looks as though he is about to throw the man to the ground, but then Fugaku turns, his own dojutsu activated._

 _"Take him to the cells.". Fugaku's voice is cold and quiet. "Now."_

 _Dragged away by the officer, the man grins, displaying his bloodied gums. "Touched a nerve, have I? I believe in Karma, you know. You'll get what you're due one day."_

 _Around them, the crowd of civilians are whispering amongst themselves. Even from his perch on the rooftop above, Itachi is able to catch the gist of what they are saying._

 _'Acting innocent.'_

 _'Their clan district wasn't damaged nearly half as much as the rest of the village...'_

 _'Who do they think they are?'_

 _'I guess the Second Hokage was right all along...'_

* * *

 _In one of many inner chambers of the Hokage Tower, Itachi kneels on a tatami mat. His head is bowed out of respect for the four elderly figures sitting on the platform in front of him._

 _"It will not work, Hiruzen," says Danzo. He eyes Itachi warily. "This technique cannot guarantee that the coup will be stopped. Even if it did work and Uchiha Fugaku was held under its influence, who is to say that this would sway the opinions of the other Uchiha."_

 _Itachi grits his teeth. He knows perfectly well the distrust that Danzo harbours for the Uchiha clan. "If I may speak, Hokage-sama?"_

 _The Third Hokage nods. "Please go ahead, Itachi."_

 _With a nod, Itachi begins. "My father holds a high level of influence over the clan. If he were to gradually stop his plans for the coup, eventually everybody else will follow. If I may make a suggestion, a way to calm the Uchiha clan would be to provide the clan with a position of power in the village. A place on the council, for example. Or perhaps an equivalent."_

 _The Third Hokage opens his mouth to respond, but Koharu's outrage fills the room._

 _"Members of the Uchiha on the council? I will not hear of it. It is far too much of a risk. We already know that we cannot trust them, otherwise we would not be in this situation," she said. "Hiruzen, please do not entertain such a ridiculous idea. The Uchiha clan needs to be dealt with forcefully."_

 _"Enough, Koharu!" The Third Hokage raises his hand and Koharu stills. "The Uchiha are old comrades in arms. I want to try settling things with words before violence. Itachi."_

 _Itachi raises his head in acknowledgement. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"_

 _"Tell Shisui to go ahead as planned with the Kotoamatsukami. The sooner the better."_

 _Itachi bows once more. "Very well, Hokage-sama."_

* * *

 _Itachi stares hopelessly at the fan on the back of Shisui's shirt as they both silently weigh up what little options they have left. Itachi had been waiting for Shisui at their usual meeting spot – beside the waterfall over the Nakano river. Only Shisui had been late, eventually stumbling into the clearing with blood running down one side of his face. Now, Shisui is looking down the side of the cliff where the waterfall meets the river._

 _"It seems we can't prevent the Uchiha's Coup d'etat," Shisui says. He is strangely calm. "If internal warfare breaks out in the Leaf, the neighbouring countries will invade... and war will begin. I was planning on using Kotoamatsukami to stop the Coup, but Danzo stole my right eye. He didn't trust what I was trying to do, and he'll resort to anything to protect the village. He'll probably come after my left eye too. Before that happens, I want you to have it."_

 _"Shisui—"_

 _"You're really the only friend I can trust. Protect the village, and the Uchiha name. Both of them."_

 _"But I..."_

 _"This isn't the only thing that I need to give you," Shisui says. " I'm going to give you a new power too. The Mangekyou Sharingan."_

 _Itachi freezes. The Mangekyou Sharingan? He knows what this means, but the thought is too much to bear. "Shisui...You can't"_

 _"I'm not going to last long in this state anyway. Take it as a gift...my dying wish."_

 _Itachi holds back a grimace._

 _Shisui smirks. "What's with that face of yours? Even like this, I can still see your face easily you know." He places a gentle hand on Itachi's shoulder. "A worried expression just doesn't look good on you. You must always remain calm. That's what Uchiha Itachi is. I'm positive you can do this...so don't worry, it'll be fine."_

 _Itachi lowers his head, squeezing his eyes shut. "I will carry on your will for the Uchiha clan."_

 _Shisui gives him a bitter smile. "From now on, you may be forced to walk down a long dark path. One that's filled with suffering. I have to apologise that I can't be with you through it all. Still, I hope you don't stray from your path, and keep moving forward as a leaf ninja. I believe in you."_

 _Itachi clenches his jaw as his throat grows tighter by the second._

 _"That is why I'm able to ask you to carry my will," Shisui continues, "and the Mangekyou." He takes a deep breath, but to Itachi it is closer to a sigh of relief. "Thank you, for everything. I guess this is the end of the road for me, but this will pave a new path for you and give you a new power." He pauses. "Well, Itachi now the time has come. It's up to you to make a new way for yourself with your own hands. You can do it. I know you can...I leave the rest to you._

 _"If I die, many things will change." Shisui backs away slowly. His feet are mere centimetres from the edge of the cliff face and his voice is almost a whisper against the roar of the waterfall behind him. "I've already left a note."_

 _The reality of the situation crashes down on Itachi, and the weight of the situation overwhelms him."Shisui, wait!"_

 _"Don't try and stop me, Itachi," he hears as Shisui's body tumbles over the edge._

 _Itachi leaps forward, stretching out his arm to grasp Shisui's shirt, his wrist, anything that could be used to haul him up. "Shisui!"_

 _Seconds of silence pass before a wet crack echoes against the cliff. Itachi draws his eyes away. He has seen death. He has seen war and bloodshed. He watched helplessly as his old genin team were slaughtered before his_ _eyes by a masked man. But right at this moment, he cannot bear to look._

 _Suddenly, his eyes begin to burn and sting. Wetness dribbles down his cheeks as his vision becomes pinpoint precise. The Mangekyou. This is Shisui's gift to him. His own tears mingle with the blood weeping from his eyes._

 _"Rest in peace, Shisui."_

* * *

 _Itachi is sitting beside Sasuke on the engawa when he hears raised voices from the entrance of their home._

 _"Is Itachi here?! We need to talk! Come on out!"_

 _Itachi ruffles Sasuke's unruly hair as he stands and makes his way through the house. Two Uchiha clansmen are stood in the doorway. One man is older with greying hair whilst the other is far younger. Over their shoulders, Itachi can see a third man hovering behind._

 _It is the young man who speaks first. "We get that you've been busy working for the Anbu, and your father tells us repeatedly that he's watching over you."_

 _"But we don't plan on treating you any differently because of that," the older man finishes._

 _Itachi sighs. "Why are all of you here?"_

 _"There were two people who didn't show up at yesterday's meeting," says the older man. Itachi recognises him as an officer in the police force. But before Itachi can say anything, the young man speaks._

 _"Why didn't you come?" The words are laced with accusation and Itachi knows exactly what this man is insinuating. He has been under suspicion for a while now due to the fact that he avoids attending clan meetings. This is not the first time that he has been questioned about the matter. His father made it very clear that his avoidance was unbecoming._

 _"I understand," Itachi replies. "I shall be more careful in future. Now I'm going have to ask you to leave."_

 _This has little effect on the men, who openly frown at him._

 _"All right," the older man says slowly. "But first, we want to ask you some questions about something. About Uchiha Shisui, who died after throwing himself into the Nakano River last night."_

 _Itachi keeps his face still. Of course, it was only a matter of time._

 _"And we," the young man adds, "the police force, have chosen to launch an all-out investigation."_

 _"Investigation?" Itachi frowns._

 _The young man is staring at Itachi curiously. "If my memory serves me right, you looked up to him as if he were your own big brother, no?"_

 _Itachi feels his chest ache at the thought. He did not need reminding of this. "Is that so? I haven't seen him recently. His death is unfortunate."_

 _The older man reaches into his pocket and draws out a folded scrap of paper. He holds it out to Itachi. "This is the note left by Shisui. The handwriting analysis proves that it's definitely his."_

 _Taking the note, Itachi asks, "If there's no sign of murder, why is it that you're investigating?" His eyes scan over the contents of the note._

'I have wearied of my duties. As it is now, the Uchiha has no future, and neither do I... I can no longer follow the 'path''

 _"I find it hard to believe that somebody like him, a man who would take on any mission for the sake of the clan, would leave a note such as this and then commit suicide just like that," the young man states._

 _There is silence as Itachi stares at Shisui's handwriting. It would be improper for him to display the violent emotion that flares below his surface. Instead, he closes his eyes briefly and swallows against the lump in his throat. "It is not wise to judge others based on your preconceptions and by their appearances."_

 _"That may be," the young man replies, "but we also know that it would be easy for somebody with the Sharingan to mimic Shisui's handwriting."_

 _As Itachi reads Shisui's note over and over, savouring the last connection he has to his cousin and best friend, the older man continues to explain their suspicions. Itachi barely listens. He knows their true reasons for turning up at his doorstep._

 _"So," the young man says, "we ask that you give the note to Anbu and request their assistance in this investigation."_

 _"Understood," Itachi answers, simply. As the three men lumber away from his front door, Itachi allowed his anger to trickle out as his Sharingan activates. His fingers clench around Shisui's note. "Why don't you come out and say it? You all suspect me, do you not?"_

 _The three men stiffen and turn, their eyes glowing red._

 _"Yeah that's right, you little punk!" the young man snaps._

 _Within seconds, Itachi darts forward, grabbing at their throats. It is no strain on his part. They are no match for his strength, and when he is finished with them they lie panting on the ground._

 _Itachi stands over them, fists clenched white. He is barely able to constrain his resentment for the clan, for his father, for himself._

 _The older man tries shakily to raise himself off the ground, but he only manages to lift himself a couple of inches before his arms give way. "Shisui was told to keep an eye on you." Blood dribbles from his lips. "It's been six months since you joined Anbu and your recent actions and words are more suspicious than ever. Just what are you thinking?"_

 _Itachi watches them with disgust. The words slip out before he can stop them. "It's always 'the clan this'... 'the clan that'... You all fail to measure your own capacity, and then fail to see the depth of mine. Now, you're lying before me, defeated. Like I said earlier, it isn't wise to judge others based on your own preconceptions. You assume that I am patient, and so you underestimate me. You hold onto the organisation, your clan, your name, but these are all things that limit us and we should detach ourselves from such trivial things."_

Understand that your pride and arrogance for the clan is driving you to your downfall, _Itachi thinks, as he watches their expressions turn from anger to bewilderment. But before he can lash out once more, a voice cuts in._

 _"Stop! Itachi!" Fugaku is stood in the path before them. He is dressed in his police uniform, having returned home from work. "That's enough," Fugaku says. "What is going on? Itachi, you haven't been yourself lately."_

 _"Nothing is wrong" Itachi replies calmly, "I am simply carrying out my duties."_

 _His father's expression flashes with shock as Itachi spins on his heel, launching a kunai at the compound wall. The kunai penetrates the rock, leaving a large crack across one of many Uchiwa fans painted on the wall. " I have lost all hope for this pathetic clan," Itachi mutters._

 _With scuffles and groans, the three men begin to get to their feet. They immediately take their places beside Fugaku as they carefully watch Itachi's every move. "That's enough. Keep this up and we'll throw you in jail."_

 _"You lose sight of the things that are most important to you when you adhere to something as insignificant as the clan"_

 _"I've had enough," the second man snaps. "Captain, give us orders to arrest him!"_

 _Itachi's anger burns throughout his limbs. His eyes start to prickle as the Mangekyou threatens to activate under such stress, but before he loses his last string of control, a small voice reaches his ears._

 _"Big brother! Please stop it!" Sasuke is peering at him from behind the doorframe. His eyes are brimmed with tears._

 _Itachi drops to his knees in defeat as his heart swells. He hates the thought of his brother seeing this side of him, but at the same time, he needs Sasuke to know, to understand the reality of the Uchiha clan._

Watch carefully, Sasuke, and one day you will understand how shallow this clan really is.

 _The cobbles are warm in the sunset as he bows to his father and apologises for his words and actions. Inside, however, he understands that his actions were a mistake. He has only escalated things._

They are even more suspicious of me now, Shisui.

* * *

 _Itachi can taste the storm brewing in the distance as he stops, face to face with Danzo, outside of the shrine that covers the entrance to Root. Knowing what this man did to Shisui makes Itachi's stomach coil. But even so, Itachi knows well that no matter how corrupt Danzo is, ultimately he holds the interests of Konoha above all._

 _"Despite what the Third Hokage said," Danzo begins, "when push comes to shove he will do whatever he needs to do in order to protect the Hidden Leaf. So far, words have failed to keep the peace. I heard of your cousin's suicide. It is a great loss considering his prowess over the Sharingan."_

 _Itachi narrowed his eyes. Danzo's words are loaded, but Itachi refuses to fall victim to them._

 _"If the Coup goes ahead, it will result in a civil war," Danzo continues. "If that were to happen, not only would there be countless losses within the village, but neighbouring countries would also take advantage of the turmoil in order to stage an attack on Konoha. To avoid this, the Third Hokage will be forced to resort to violence in order to prevent the Coup d'etat before it happens."_

 _Itachi stiffens. It is barely noticeable, but Danzo's eyes crinkle in pleasure._

 _"I have called you here to present you with two options. Align with your clan and you will be slaughtered along with your family at the hands of Konoha's Anbu."_

 _Itachi shivers as a fork of lightning flashes across the sky._ Sasuke...

 _As if reading his mind, Danzo adds, "your brother is innocent, that much is true. However, if he were to be spared, it is inevitable that he will eventually learn of the Uchiha's attempt at a Coup d'etat. Should he realise that the village he calls home is responsible for the extermination of his clan, who is to say that he would not become vengeful and turn against the village. He would become an enemy of Konoha, and as a result he would have to be eliminated."_

 _Itachi feels a sharp sting in the palm of his hand, and only then does he realise that he has been clenching his fist hard enough for his fingernails to penetrate skin._

Danzo...you bastard _, he mentally cursed,_ you will be dead before you can touch Sasuke.

 _"Of course, there is another option."_

 _Itachi remains silent, waiting for him to continue._

 _"If you were to take the matter into your own hands, and exterminate every Uchiha aside from your brother, the fall of the Uchiha clan would rest on your shoulders. It would result in your becoming a criminal and living out your life as such. But your brother, Uchiha Sasuke, would be left unharmed and ignorant of the truth." Danzo pauses. "Uchiha Itachi, do you accept this mission?"_

 _Lightning strikes, and Itachi sees clearly the shadows behind Danzo's eye._

 _He does not answer. He cannot just yet. And so, he walks away._

* * *

 _The sun beats down on Itachi's back through his shirt. The feeling is pleasant, and if it weren't for the thoughts running in circles through his mind, he would feel at peace. He is perched on the roof of the Hokage Tower, wondering how he can even begin to choose between the village and his clan._

Mother...Father. Either way, I do not think I can prevent your deaths, _Itachi thought, closing his eyes._ I have failed as your son.

 _Suddenly, the Hokage Tower shakes violently as several explosions light up the village. Itachi's heart pounds as screams and yells fill the air, and the sharp clash of kunai reaches his ears._ _All around him, Konoha shinobi leap across rooftops, heading toward the sites of the attacks._

This can't be... _Itachi stares in disbelief at the houses, shops and market stalls engulfed in flames. He knows what this is. His gut feeling is never usually wrong._

 _Within seconds, Itachi's body is blown backwards as an explosion racks the street in front of the Hokage Tower. He crashes through the roof, landing in a heap of hot broken glass and black wood. Grimacing in pain, he manages to climb to his feet._ _Pulling shards of glass from his bleeding arms, he surveys his surroundings. He is in the middle of an unlit hallway, and just above his head, a chunk of the building is missing. All around him, the tower is alive with the muffled sounds of Anbu running to protect their Hokage._

 _Hopping back onto the roof through the hole above him, Itachi's heart sinks at the sight of the village._

No... It wasn't supposed to happen yet.

 _Civilians and shinobi shriek as katon jutsu sear through the streets. Itachi can identify members of the Uchiha clan dotted around, grinning at the sight of the damage. Blood is splattered across the walls of buildings as loyal Konoha shinobi attempt to rescue civilians whilst engaged in combat._

 _"Uchiha-Taichou!" Itachi only vaguely notices as one of his clansmen appears on the roof beside him. The man is looking at him with a guarded expression, but his eyes soon drift to Itachi's forehead. "You're bleeding, Taichou."_

 _Itachi touches his forehead with his fingertips. When he pulls away, his fingers are covered in blood. Probing further, he realises that a foreign object has pierced his temple. He yanks the object out, finding that it is a piece of metal._

 _"What is going on here?" Itachi asks. He does not bother to hide his disgust. "This was not the plan."_

 _The man – whom Itachi now recognises as Uchiha Shota, a former Anbu – gives him a pointed look. Shota tilts his head and with two fingers, he launches a kunai at the remains of the building opposite where they are stood. There is a wet gurgle as the kunai penetrates the trachea of a Yamanaka shinobi who had just attempted to crawl into Shota's mind_

 _"The date of the attack was moved forward," Shota finally replies. "Fugaku-sama, and many others in the clan have found your behaviour suspicious, and it was suggested that you should not be told about the change in date. Fugaku-sama was reluctant but—"_

 _"Where is my father?"_

 _Shota grins. "I knew it. People were saying that you were against our plans. Your parents refused to acknowledge it. They said you were stressed because you're an Anbu captain. But tell me, is it true that you attacked three members of the clan."_

 _Itachi wants to punch this man. He feels his muscles tighten._

 _"Apparently they asked about Shisui, so you attacked them and denounced the clan. Despite what your father says, it's true isn't it. You're the enemy—"_

 _Itachi's hand shoots out as he grabs Shota by his collar and hoists him up. "Like those men, you are trying my patience. Tell me where my father is."_

 _Shota gasps for breath and splutters,_ _"he is likely tracking down the Third Hokage."_

 _Itachi knows the answer before he even asks the question. "To do what?"_

 _"Whatever it takes to win."_

 _Itachi assesses the situation in front of him. What should he do? His village or his family?_

 _Family_...

Sasuke!

 _He shakes Shota by his collar once more. "My mother and brother?" His forearm stings where Shota is clawing for freedom._

 _Shota's answer is a warble of strangled words. "The children of the Uchiha clan are hidden beneath the Nakano shrine. Our matriarch, Mikoto-sama, is with them." Itachi lowers the man to the ground, releasing a breath. But he barely has a chance to register his relief, as Shota adds, "that being said, Fugaku-sama sent me to find you. He wants to give you a message._

 _Itachi raises his head. His Sharingan burns into the Mangekyou. "What message?"_

 _Shota's lips curl. "Pick your side."_

* * *

A/N: Do you have any idea how long it took me to go back through material from the series in order to piece together these scenes? Half the time, there are several versions of the same scene. So for example, with regards to Shisui's death, there are multiple versions, so I ended up combining one version from the anime with a game version. I know I could just use the manga for reference, but 700 chapters... No. Just no.

Basically, Itachi's Tsukuyomi over Sakura will be split into two chapters because if I did it all in one I think it would be too much. There is a little hint at a tiny Itasaku moment earlier in this chapter. Let's see who will notice it!

Please forgive me if the writing is a little sloppy in places. I've been so busy and tired recently. I've just graduated with my degree and it turns out that my brother's graduation was a couple of days after mine, so the house has been filled with family members and I'm a quiet introvert. Tis draining for me.

Thank you for putting up with me x


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Seven

 _Itachi deflects a myriad of kunai and senbon as he sprints across rooftops. Around him, the village is in chaos_ _._ _Houses are swathed in flames, if not already burned to the ground, and the streets are red with bodies and carnage. Amidst the destruction, civilians are running in search of shelter, their mouths and noses covered to avoid breathing in smoke and smut from the rubble. As Itachi runs, roofs collapse beneath his feet, forcing him to rely on chakra to keep from falling through._

 _At the edge of his vision he notices a cluster of paper bombs stuck to the side of a brick wall. Several metres away, a boy – a mere toddler – is crouched on the ground, screaming._ _Itachi drops down, grabs the boy and jumps away seconds before the paper bombs detonate. The explosion sears Itachi's back and shoulders as he lands safely in a small side street. He sets the boy on the ground, intending to calm his screams, but as Itachi pulls away, he swallows._

 _A exquisite red burn stretches down from the boy's chin to his collarbone. It glistens, wet with blood and blisters, and Itachi feels the weight of his failiure. Despite having shielded the boy by taking the brunt of the explosion on himself, it still hadn't been enough._

Shisui, I am so sorry. I could not even protect this child.

 _The boy continues to shriek in hysteria, and Itachi squats down beside him. It was difficult to look at the boy without wincing at the sight of his burns. "What is your name?" Itachi asked gently._

 _This has no effect, and Itachi feels a glimmer of desperation. "What about your mother?"_

 _The boy hiccups, tears leaving tracks in the soot on his face. He slurs out a hoarse, "Mama!"_

 _Itachi does not want to know what happened to this boy's mother. He already knows that it can not be good._

 _Taking the boy's pudgy hands in his own, he says, "come on, I will protect you."_

At least, I will try.

 _The boy wraps his arms around Itachi's neck, burying his face in Itachi's shirt. The extra weight pulling on his neck and shoulders causes pain to prickle down his back where the explosion had licked his skin. But he's used to repressing pain, and so, supporting the child with one hand, Itachi continues to jump across rooftops._ _Before he finds his father, he needs to make sure this boy gets to the evacuation bunkers. As he darts between shinobi, weapons and jutsus, Itachi sets his eyes on a family of three running in the direction of the Hokage Mountain – more specifically, the bunkers situated within the mountain._

 _Itachi jumps in front of the family, blocking their path. Immediately, the daughter of the family pushes her parents behind her and raises a kunai in defence. Itachi notes from her uniform that she is a chuunin. Her mother and father stare at him in horror, whilst their daughter carefully averts her eyes to his feet._

Smart girl, _Itachi thinks_.

 _He raises his free hand in indication of peace as he lowers the boy to the ground. The boy is reluctant to let go of Itachi's shirt, but with some encouragement, he toddles toward the family. The mother scoops the boy up in her arms and scrutinizes his burn._

 _"_ _I need you to protect this child," Itachi tells them. "Take him with you to the evacuation bunkers. Unfortunately I do not know what has happened to his mother."_

 _The mother and father gaze at him, confused by the fact that he is helping rather than attacking. But on the other hand, their chuunin daughter, having surmised that he was not a threat, glances up from his feet and meets his eyes. She nods in affirmation. "With my life," she says simply._

 _And with that, Itachi is gone, leaving them to usher the toddler to safety. Whilst he knows deep down that he should have taken the boy directly to the bunkers, he saw the look in the chunnin's eyes. It was a look he recognised from when he clutched Sasuke during the nine-tales attack. So long as she was still breathing, she would not let any harm come to the boy._

 _With confidence, Itachi continues to slink through the shadows until he finally senses the dark, disturbed chakra of his father. The chakra is headed in the direction of Third Hokage who is positioned at the very top of the Hokage Mountain._ _From the Third Hokage's chakra, Itachi can tell that he is in the midst of a very complicated sealing jutsu._ _It is one that Itachi has read about before in books. The Third Hokage is sending his chakra out in waves, using it to slow the movements of the Uchiha attackers, eventually exhausting them. Placed in a protective circle around the Hokage, the familiar chakra signatures of Anbu thrum, ready to pounce on those who dare to attack._

 _But Itachi knows that it is fruitless. His father's dangerous chakra is approaching the Hokage Mountain._ _Whilst the Anbu are strong, there is a reason why his father had been nicknamed 'Fugaku of the Wicked Eye' during the Third Great Shinobi War._

 _Itachi clenches his jaw. He does not want to fight his father, and if he can avoid it, he will. His muscles tense ready to sprint across the village.._

 _But then he senses it._

 _That chakra signature. It flickers, almost snuffed out. Izumi._

 _With a sudden change in direction, Itachi bolts toward Izumi's chakra. It's close. Close enough that he may still be able to reach his father in time too. It's a risk to put his father aside temporarily for her sake. But he has already lost Shisui._

 _He finds her cornered in a back alley, crumpled in on herself, a Konoha shinobi stood over her ready to deliver the final blow._

 _"_ _You may be a kid, but your whole goddamn clan is trouble. I won't show any mercy," the shinobi sneers. "My sister was killed by the nine-tales." The shinobi draws a senbon, aiming it at Izumi's exposed collar where her carotid artery lay just beneath her skin._

 _With one flick of his wrist, Itachi deals a blow to the shinobi's neck, knocking him unconscious before he can launch the senbon. The shinobi tumbles to the ground, and Itachi kicks his body away before dropping to his knees before Izumi. Curled like a foetus, her ninja vest is dark with blood. Her hand, slick with red, rests against her lower stomach, pressing down weakly. Carefully, Itachi inspects the area of her stomach that she is guarding so desperately. Beneath her fingers, her skin has been torn. Izumi's limp hand is the only thing keeping her organs from spilling._

 _Itachi fumbles around with his weapons pouch, reaching for the small first aid kit inside. He struggles to steady his hands as he unravels a roll of bandage, beginning to wrap it around Izumi's midsection. Too late, he remembers that the first aid kit is meant for minor scrapes only, and the rolls of bandages are too small in size and too few in number._

The bandage isn't big enough... I need more. I need more bandages.

 _"_ _Itachi-kun."_

 _He only realises he is crying when he sees his own tears dotted on Izumi's cheeks and in the hollow of her neck. She is barely awake, eyes slit open, voice sleepy. But she is looking at him with relief. With the back of his hand, he wipes the tears from his face, smearing some of Izumi's blood on his cheek in the process._

 _"_ _Izumi," he holds her chin, forcing her to keep her eyes on him. "Hold on for a bit. I'm going to find a medic-nin. Just stay awake, okay? If you shut your eyes you—"_

 _"_ _Itachi-kun."_

 _She smiles and Itachi no longer holds back his tears. They drip from his chin. One lands on her lip, trickling into her mouth._

 _"_ _I can taste it" she says, "your feelings for me." Itachi's body convulses as he sobs silently. "People always saw us as a couple, and they said we would probably marry... But I've always wondered if you were uncomfortable with that. I was worried you were being forced into spending your life with me just because of what everyone expected. But it's okay. I know now."_

 _Itachi's eyes sting and prickle as he activates his Mangekyou. Holding Izumi's gaze, he shows her a vision of how things would have happened if not for their family's curse._

 _He shows her how they would have grown up, climbing the ranks of the ninja world and dreaming of peace together. The two of them in their mid twenties, sitting on the edge of the Uchiha dock as Itachi pulls a ring from his pocket and asks her the question on his mind._

 _The image of Izumi, beautiful as a lily in a wedding kimono as he takes her hand in his own. Their wedding night, and the feeling of being impossibly close to one another._

 _Sitting side by side on the veranda of their home, Izumi's stomach swollen with a little prawny thing that won't stop kicking. Itachi reciting his favourite poems to Izumi's stomach, much to her distaste, but they can laugh about it._

 _The birth of their first child, their daughter, who screams and kicks as she announces to the world that she has finally arrived. Their second child, a son, with his father's hair and his mother's sense of humour. Itachi and Izumi taking their children to the Academy but reminding them that violence is for emergencies only._

 _Itachi eventually retiring from being a shinobi, preferring instead to find happiness in growing vegetables and welcoming his children home from missions._

 _Growing old together, with Itachi looking forward to meeting his grandchildren, and Izumi who takes up jam making but finds the most fun in getting Itachi to test her trial runs. He doesn't mind, despite how he jokes that she has made him her guinea pig._

 _Eventually passing away in their sleep, one after the other._

 _When Itachi pulls them both out of the genjutsu, Izumi's eyes have already begun to darken as she nears her end._ _The reality is a far cry from the perfect vision that they have both just witnessed. Izumi dies at the age of thirteen, in the midst of a civil war, crumpled up in an alley, and bleeding out on a bed of damp newspaper and rubble._

 _There is a minute where he cannot bring himself to move. Despite the noise surrounding them, Itachi cannot see beyond the limp body in his arms. But slowly, he wills himself to set her down. It takes a few minutes for him to regain control over his limbs, to push through the numbness that is pressing down on him._ _Sparing a moment to rearrange her body in a more dignified position, Itachi allows himself one last look. He would like to stay longer, to protect her body from the battles around them. But he can't afford to waste time. He has to move before it is too late._

 _He races across the village, senses honed completely on his father's chakra signature. So far, several of the Anbu guards' chakra signatures have been cut completely. Some are holding onto life by a thread. This can only mean that his father has taken them down. From what he can tell, his father and the Third Hokage are facing one another, unmoving._ _This is no surprise, as Sarutobi Hiruzen is not a violent man. He will do his best to quell Fugaku's rage before resorting to any violence. After all, he had said it himself – the Uchiha are old comrades in arms. Even Fugaku named Sasuke after Hiruzen's father._

 _Hopefully if the Third Hokage manages to calm Fugaku down somewhat, to come up with some agreement, Itachi will then make it in time to fix this._

 _As he begins to climb up the Hokage Mountain, the sounds of battle grow louder. He runs faster. Faster than he ever thought he could. Clearly the Hokage's attempts to reason with words did not last long. Nearing the top of the mountain, Itachi hears the voices of his father and the Third Hokage. Names of jutsu, grunts of pain, growls of anger._

 _Finally, two figures at the top of the mountain come into view. His father and the Third Hokage are circling one another. They seem to be talking, about the nine tales attack, about the lack of trust, about how all the village council could have found a way to give the Uchiha a more central role but decided to shun them instead. The Third Hokage looks weary. Exhausted that years of segregation have come to this._

 _"_ _We can settle this, Fugaku-san. The Uchiha will be incorporated into the decisions of the village. We can move the district closer, more central."_

 _Fugaku's fingers begin forming a seal. It is so subtle, so quick, that Itachi would not have noticed if not for the sharingan._

 _"_ _It's interesting," Fugaku says, "you said the same things years ago. And so did your predecessors."_

 _Fugaku makes to release a whirlwind of fire._

 _"_ _Father!"_

 _Itachi locks eyes with his father, who had been so focused on the battle, he failed to notice Itachi's presence._

 _"_ _Father, this is madness. Stop the attacks."_

 _Fugaku's eyes darken. "I see you have chosen your side."_

 _Itachi shakes his head, coming to a stop before their battle. "This isn't about choosing sides. This is about the fact that there are families, children, dying down there. Not just civilians, but Uchiha too."_

 _Suddenly, Hiruzen's chakra flashes. There is a glint of metal as Itachi's Sharingan struggles to keep up. But when it does, Itachi's heart jumps. The Third Hokage is poised before his father, a sword raised, ready to strike Fugaku through the chest. But what catches Itachi's attention is the fact that his father is simply standing there, without so much as raising a hand in defence._

 _And everything builds up. The death of his genin team many years before, Shisui's suicide, the agony of Danzo's impossible mission, the motherless boy, Izumi's death._

 _Itachi's body moves on its own._

 _He flash steps in front of his father, ready to take the blow or at least deflect it. Itachi is low on chakra. He spent most of it on Izumi's genjutsu. He is barely aware of what he's doing._

 _But when the blow comes, it does not hit._

 _The Third Hokage doubles over, blood spilling over the gravel ground. He collapses on his knees, eyes rolling back. A chokuto protrudes through his chest, severing his lungs. His body twitches, then becomes still._

 _Itachi looks down at his hands where he can still feel the hilt of the chokuto. He doesn't remember how he had gotten hold of it, but he feels disgusted. Horrified. Sick. Sarutobi Hiruzen is dead._

 _Fugaku stares at him with smug knowing. "I knew you had it in you, my boy. Blood is always the thickest tie."_

 _Immediately it dawns on Itachi that he has been fooled. His bonds with his family and the emotion at the thought of losing his father had overridden his ability to realise that Fugaku was in no real danger._

 _"_ _Genjutsu," Itachi breathes, as he recognises the power of his father's Sharingan._

 _He doesn't even remember whether his father or the Third Hokage had been holding the chokuto. What had been real and what was simply illusion? His father truly is Fugaku of the Wicked Eye._

 _And now the Third Hokage is dead._

 _Itachi cannot feel his legs. He doesn't know where he should go from here. What happens now?_

 _Fugaku strides over to the Third Hokage's body, placing a foot on Hiruzen's chest as leverage as he pulls the chokuto free. Paying Itachi no attention, he stands at the edge of the mountain face._

 _"Come," he says, and jumps._

 _Itachi does not know what to do. He has always prided himself on his ability to plan and calculate moves. But right now, he is at a loss. His legs move on their own accord, following as he jumps from the mountain._

 _His father is waiting for him on what is left of the roof of the Hokage Tower._

 _Fugaku gazes at Itachi proudly, and with two fingers in his mouth, he sends out a shrill whistle. Within seconds, heads turn to Fugaku and Itachi. Konoha shinobi drop to their knees, some crying out, others still with shock. Fugaku raises the sword above his head._

 _"_ _This is our revival!"_

* * *

When Sakura regained consciousness, she was overcome with the scent of laundry and sweat. Opening her eyes, she was met with the sight of Itachi hovering over her. She was lying across the floor of her living room, and Itachi was supporting her upper body with his hands.

"Sakura, you are quite alright."

Her heart was racing from the vision of the Coup and the Third Hokage's death.

 _That's right. I'm home. Itachi is here. He's not going to hurt me._ She glanced around, taking in the familiarity of her surroundings. _I'm okay._

Slowly, she removed herself from Itachi's arms. Somehow it felt odd, having seen his memories and experienced his feelings. She somehow felt that she knew more about Itachi now than even Sasuke. Even though she brushed off his hands, Itachi continued to help her sit up.

"You don't have to do that," she said nervously.

He raised an eyebrow. "You lost consciousness and I caught you. Would you rather I let you fall to the floor?"

She sighed. "You don't have to be so sassy about it." She wouldn't say it, but she actually appreciated the way he broke the ice.

"I believe this is the first time I've been called sassy," he mused.

"Oh believe me, you can be really sassy at times, Itachi. I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned it to you."

Itachi did not answer, and once again the air between them became stiff and awkward. Sakura was sitting cross legged on the floor of the living room. Her head pounded and she felt physically ill, not just because of the lingering effects of the Tsukuyomi, but also at what she had witnessed. The blood, Shisui's suicide, the murder of the Third Hokage, Danzo's scheming, everything...

 _And Izumi too._

Sakura recalled the moment of the girl's death with mixed feelings. She had felt the full extent of his anguish and desire to remain in the genjutsu of their life together. Looking at Itachi now, Sakura saw the stark difference between the Itachi of the past and the Itachi stood before her. It seemed odd, _invasive_ , to have witnessed the memories of somebody so guarded. But at the same time, she was overwhelmed with respect for this man who even at the age of twenty seven, after having lost almost everything, was still fighting for his dream.

And then there was the issue of Danzo, who she had not reappeared after he gave Itachi the mission.

"What happened to Danzo?"

Itachi gave a minimal shrug. "He vanished. I did not see him again after receiving my orders. It is speculated that he fled the village along with Root."

She was hesitant to say it, but she had to ask. "And Izumi?"

Itachi was expressionless. "What about her?"

"You said you were once betrothed to a girl. That was her."

A pause. "Yes."

"Didn't it bother you that she was willing to kill for the sake of the Coup? She was against the village, and in your memories you said that your clan was afflicted by a family curse of hatred. I mean...well, she was technically the enemy—"

"You are wrong." Itachi's voice held a sharp edge, and Sakura gulped. She had forgotten about Itachi's dreadful reputation. "Izumi was easily influenced. She was led astray by my father and the clan, that much is true. But at no point was she an enemy."

Sakura felt like a child reprimanded. The cool distance in Itachi's tone told her that he would defend Izumi endlessly. It wasn't that Sakura thought that the girl was all bad. From what she saw of Itachi's memories, she was dear to him. But this was all she knew. As far as Sakura was concerned, Izumi was an active participant in the Coup. She was out in the village, armed with weapons, prepared to kill for the sake of a revolution that caused the death of Sakura's parents.

Sakura said, voice quiet, "You loved her."

 _You loved her in spite of her actions._

There was silence for a moment. "I loved her as deeply as a thirteen year old child knows how to love."

Sakura didn't know why she felt she needed to ask, but the question seemed to be pressing on her mind. "Were you _in_ love with her?"

To her surprise, Itachi did not regard her question with distain. Instead, he shrugged as a smile danced over his lips. "It is impossible to know. Like I said, I was thirteen. To what extent can a thirteen year old truly experience romantic love?"

With a flash of embarrassment, Sakura thought back to her days of 'loving' Sasuke when they were both thirteen. The thought made her cringe. Her 'love' for Sasuke consisted mainly of worshipping the ground he walked on and covering every inch of her bedroom walls with pictures of him. In retrospect, Sakura could see that her 'love' was nothing more than puppy love. However, she believed firmly that under the right circumstances, those feelings would have developed into a more genuine love.

Perhaps, if Sasuke's clan had not been responsible for the death of her parents, she would not have drawn away from him so strongly after the Coup.

"You are tired," Itachi said, breaking her out of her reverie. "It is perhaps time that I leave and we continue our discussion another day."

"No!" Sakura blurted out. "Not yet. I want to ask you about Shisui."

There was a silence. Itachi's face betrayed nothing as he made his way to the couch, sitting with his elbows against his knees.

"What is the technique that he had? The Kotoam—"

"The Kotoamatsukami," Itachi said, "is a technique that allows the user to influence the thoughts of an individual. So it could either cause the person to think repeatedly about a certain subject, or it could cause them to lose interest altogether. It is a technique that is unique to Shisui alone."

"Is?"

Itachi nodded. "As I'm sure you remember, he gifted to me his remaining eye. Whilst Shisui is no longer with us, his eye is intact meaning that the Kotoamatsukami can still be used." Before Sakura could ask the question that lingered on the tip of her tongue, Itachi answered it for her. "I could very easily use the Kotoamatsukami right now to sway my father. But every technique had a drawback. It is unfortunate, but the Kotoamatsukami can only be used once every fifteen years, and even then, it can only be used on one individual at a time."

"Ahh..."

 _That's so limiting... Even if he used it and it worked on Uchiha Fugaku, the rest of the Uchiha clan would be unchanged. And it would be useless for another fifteen years._

"If possible," Itachi added, "I would like to keep the Kotoamatsukami as a last resort."

"I agree," Sakura said. "It's a powerful technique, but in a twisted way I think I understand why Danzo was so hesitant about it." At this, Itachi's eyes flickered to hers. "It's too limited, so even if we use it we wouldn't be able to use it on anybody but your father."

"That is why if I can avoid having to rely on it, I will." With a sigh, he stood up. From her seat, cross-legged on the living room floor, Itachi looked impossibly tall even if he was actually very average height-wise. She clambered to her feet, but as she did the room swayed and she stumbled. Itachi's hand on her lower back steadied her as she clung to his arm for support.

"You shouldn't move so hastily," Itachi said, paying no attention to the furious blush on Sakura's cheeks as he scooped her up. "The Tsukuyomi has some particularly nasty side effects, especially as you have the added stress of your history with it. If you can, you should avoid overworking tomorrow. Or better yet, request the day off."

Sakura was too dizzy to protest as he carried her to the bedroom. She struggled to keep her eyes open and didn't bother to resist as he set her down on the bed and pulled the covers around her. Her mind was already lost to the world when he spoke his parting words.

"Rest now, Sakura."

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry to all the Itachi-Izumi fans out there. It genuinely broke my heart to write her death.

I've never written a scene set in a war/battle before so I'm afraid that this chapter might have ended up being cheesy or cliche. It definitely is a bit cheesy, but please cut me some slack since it's my first time writing this kind of scene, haha. Normally I write short stories based in our boring real world rather than a world with fire-breathing water-bending ninjas.

I should probably add that I'm aware of how I'm basically demonizing Fugaku and the Uchiha clan in general in this fic. But I've been trying to stress that they're afflicted by the curse of hatred, so they're definitely not thinking straight. I mean, we all saw what the curse of hatred did to Sasuke. He basically lost his mind.

Let me know what you think though. If there's something I need to develop more or clarify please let me know so I can improve the story for you :)


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Eight

Leaving Sakura wrapped up in bedsheets and sleeping soundly, Itachi wandered through her apartment. Out of courtesy, he turned off the lamps in the living room and straightened the cushions on her couch. It felt strange that he would be marrying this woman. All he knew of her was what his baby brother had told him. But within the last week, he felt that Sakura had become less of an acquaintance and more of…what?

 _A friend? No. Not quite. She is something different._

He couldn't quite place it. His relationship with Sakura was unlike his relationship with Shisui or Izumi. It was something that couldn't be put into words because it was ever changing; one minute she was merely an acquaintance, the next minute she had been inside his head watching his memories.

He had never imagined marrying anybody other than Izumi, even though he knew that marriage was expected of him. Although he had initially approached Sakura with business in mind rather than pleasure, as he stood in her apartment now, he found himself wanting to learn more about this woman.

Her apartment was, for the most part, neglected. Dishes had been left in the sink and the surfaces needed dusting. However, judging by the meticulously placed ornaments and the books on the coffee table arranged in the neatest pile he had ever seen, Sakura was not a messy person by nature. The state of her home could be explained by her lack of free time due to her work at the hospital. Sasuke had often complained that Sakura was being worked into the ground.

He understood this well; his own surroundings suffered whenever he was away on missions. It wasn't unusual that he should return home to find a thin coat of dust over his bed. Only, the difference was, it was unlikely that Sakura had been on a mission recently. After her tutelage with Tsunade was uncovered, Sakura received a cap on her missions. The only missions she received now were usually medical in nature and if she were to leave the village, she would be accompanied by a trusted member of Anbu. However, even in such cases Sakura's missions were usually of little import. His father did not trust her with any high-ranking missions.

 _It's a shame that her abilities have not been put to better use._

As he silently explored her home, he wondered how much it truly bothered her that she was more often than not tied to the hospital. He had yet to see her complain, but it was highly likely that she hid her frustration from her peers. He was not there when the other members of Team Seven had found out about the cap on her missions, but he distinctly remembered one evening during which Sasuke came home fuming and had refused to eat with their father present. As far as Itachi recalled, Sasuke had not spoken to Fugaku for the two months following, and the tension between the two sparked rumours within the Uchiha clan.

Itachi thought that he'd seen all the rooms of her apartment when he noticed a door in the corner of the living room. He had barely noticed it as it was hidden in the shadows. At first he assumed that it was merely a cupboard as the door was no taller than four feet. He began to walk away when he picked up on the sharp scent of incense.

He had an inkling of what was behind the door, and he had every intention of walking away out of respect for Sakura's privacy. But some strange part of him felt that she owed him a glimpse into her own past. She had borne witness to some of his most personal memories, and was it so selfish that she should return the favour? He took the handle and opened it.

His suspicions were correct, and he felt a weight tug at his chest. The shrine was small but well decorated. Half-melted candles were arranged around two separate photos of her parents. The resemblance Sakura shared with each was incredible – her mother's eyes and mouth, and her father's nose. The two pictures were copies of the regulatory photographs that all villagers – both shinobi and civilian – are requested to have taken as part of their official paperwork as citizens of Konoha. In front of the photographs Sakura had set up an assortment of objects, such as one single wedding ring, a piece of a broken teacup, a hairbrush filled with blonde hair, and a charred notebook.

At this point, Itachi knew that he had overstepped a boundary. He closed the cupboard door and without a backward glance, he left through the open window.

* * *

"What do you mean my shift is covered?"

Sakura was barely lucid as she clutched her phone with one hand and pulled on her vest with the other. There was a rustle on the other end of the phone as the hospital receptionist, Tajima Ikue, filtered through sheets of paper.

"We received instruction this morning that Haruno Sakura-san is to have today off," Ikue replied smoothly. "I don't know the specifics of who sent the order, but rest assured I am looking at the rota and your shift for today is covered, Haruno-san."

Sakura frowned. She had an idea as to who had organised this, and she made a mental note to treat him to some dango as a thank you. "Thank's for letting me know, Ikue-san," Sakura said.

"You're welcome," Ikue answered, "I will see you tomorrow Haruno-san."

Putting the phone down, Sakura sighed with relief and collapsed onto her bed. She had woken up half an hour later than usual, and in a panic had rang the hospital reception to let them know that she would be running late.

A pain ran through her temple and she rubbed at it, idly sending chakra to soothe the headache. The Tsukuyomi had taken its toll on her. If Sakura hadn't been a medic, the after effects of the Tsukuyomi probably would have been far worse. Now that the initial adrenaline of believing she was late for work had worn off, she felt as though she were underwater. The pain above her temple had been reduced to a dull throb, and her joints and muscles felt weak and sore.

But this wasn't going to stop her from meeting up with the rest of Team Seven. Yes, Itachi had given her this day to rest. However, it was because of work that she barely had time to spend with her team. She didn't have to spar or train with them, she just wanted to enjoy their company.

After getting dressed into casual clothes, Sakura left her apartment and located the familiar chakra signature of Kakashi. She found him on the bridge where as genin they had met every morning for training. As she approached the bridge, he didn't openly acknowledge her presence. But of course he knew she was there.

"Well this is surprising," he said, finally glancing her way when she leaned beside him against the railing of the bridge.

"Aren't you usually at the hospital by now?"

"Not today," she grinned. "I've been given a day off."

His eye crinkled. "I'm glad. You're always overworked. A breather will be good for you." Eyeing her clothes, he added, "I'm guessing you're not here to train."

"I'm kind of supposed to be resting today."

He raised an eyebrow. "What did you do this time?"

She laughed nervously. "Just overuse of chakra again," she lied. "You know me..."

Kakashi shook his head in mock disapproval, although she sensed the concern hidden beneath his words. "What use is a medic who collapses from exhaustion?"

She brushed him off with a gentle smile. "You worry about me too much Kakashi-sensei. I can handle myself."

"I'm sure you can Sakura, but that doesn't change the fact that-" He paused then sighed. "Naruto and Sasuke have sensed your chakra. They'll be here soon."

Within less than a minute, Naruto and Sasuke appeared in the distance. Sakura almost giggled at the sight of them strolling casually, as though she hadn't just sensed their chakra signatures darting through the village and leaping across roofs toward her and Kakashi.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved, jogging to the bridge.

"Shocked to see me?" she teased.

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Sort of... It's unusual for you to be here for training nowadays."

Sasuke was stood just behind Naruto, his expression blank aside from the hint of amusement in his dark eyes. "When I saw you just now I thought you were a phantom."

Sakura lightly slapped him across the head, causing Sasuke to smirk. "You all only saw me a couple of days ago. We ate ramen together, how could you forget?"

"You know what the idiot is like," Sasuke said, nodding at Naruto, "he can't even remember what he had for breakfast this morning."

"Oi! Teme!" Naruto shook his fist. "You bet I can remember. I had ramen, you know!"

Sakura frowned. "Ramen for breakfast..."

Naruto nodded happily, all anger at Sasuke completely forgotten. "Yep, you should try it some time Sakura-chan, it tastes better in the morning."

"I don't know why you're so surprised, Sakura," Sasuke said with a shrug.

Sakura knew he wasn't wrong. "I know, I shouldn't be so surprised." She turned to Naruto. "You realise that you're a walking heart-attack waiting to happen, right? All that sodium..."

"Well then," Kakashi interrupted, clapping his hands to break them up. "It's great to have the entire team here as I know how hard it is to get away from the hospital, Sakura." He smiled beneath his mask. "Obviously, Sakura since you mentioned that you're supposed to be resting, you won't be training with us today—"

"Wait," Naruto said, "why is Sakura-chan resting?" His large blue eyes were fixated on her with worry. Sasuke was eyeing her knowingly.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, only Sasuke beat her to it. "You've exhausted your chakra again."

She sighed. "Yeah... kind of." Heaven knows she hated lying to her teammates. "That's why I've been given the day off. I have to rest up before going back to work tomorrow."

Naruto pouted. "It's not fair. What do you even do that takes so much time anyway?"

Sakura wasn't sure how to answer. She felt uncomfortable lying to Naruto, but her work creating antidotes to airborne poisons was confidential. No matter how much she trusted her team with all her heart, she was under strict orders not to speak of her work. The village couldn't risk word getting out that Konoha had antidotes. If that happened, the enemy villages would keep adapting their poisons, rendering Sakura's antidotes useless.

"I heal people," she said, which was a curved version of the truth – her antidotes were used to treat those exposed to poisons in order to prevent an epidemic. "You know that, Naruto," she laughed. "What else do people do in hospitals?"

Naruto's face betrayed his embarrassment that he had failed to think of the obvious. Sasuke seemed only vaguely interested. But Kakashi was staring at her with something unreadable. Perhaps he knew what her work truly entailed. Even if he did, he would never talk about it. That was just who Kakashi was.

"If that's the case," Naruto exclaimed, "then when I become Hokage, you'll never have to work this hard again Sakura-chan. At least not enough to drain your chakra."

At this, Sakura's heart sank. Although she and Itachi had agreed that he would make Naruto his successor should Naruto prove that he is capable of the job, she also knew that it would be a long time before Naruto could make it there. There were just too many hurdles. The biggest hurdle being to sort out the political mess that the village was in with Fugaku's iron fist.

"Hn. The Hokage title is reserved for the Uchiha, Idiot."

Sakura bit back a comment. Sasuke was unlike the rest of his clan; he was unaffected by the curse of hatred that was rumoured to run in his family. But there would always be a bridge that Sasuke had failed to cross regarding the brutal reality of his clan. Sakura remembered from Itachi's memories, the Uchiha children had been hidden underground beneath the Naka Shrine, blind and deaf to the chaos above. It hadn't taken much effort to convince a group of children that the Uchiha clan is above all others.

Sakura was grateful when Kakashi decided to begin the morning training. Although his expression was hidden behind his mask, Sakura sensed that he had also felt the tension in the air.

* * *

Itachi knocked on the door to his father's office, although it wasn't really necessary. Fugaku would recognise his chakra signature.

"Come in, Itachi."

Itachi stepped inside, greeting Fugaku with a nod. "You requested my presence."

"I did, yes." Fugaku rooted through the papers on his desk before pulling out what Itachi recognised as a mission slip. He pushed it across the desk.

Taking it, Itachi lazily surveyed its contents. "An infiltration mission requiring two shinobi."

"There has been an increase in the number of Kiri nin found along the border," Fugaku explained. "A team of Anbu confronted a group of them recently. They claimed to be on an innocent mission with a client, but there was a sensory-type amongst the Anbu and there was no client seen or sensed in the area. I'm sure you have already read the reports."

Itachi nodded. He read over the team's reports when they were handed to him on behalf of his father, who happened to be in a meeting with the village elders at the time. The Kiri nin had simply stated that they were on an escort mission and refused to speak further. Any finer details were confidential and our Anbu had no real right to demand such information.

"Normally," Fugaku continued, folding his arms, "I would avoid sending you on a mission like this. You are one of my strongest shinobi, Itachi, and you are also my son and heir. If the Mizukage is sending agents to infiltrate Konoha, I would prefer to keep my strongest men here, should worst come to worst."

It did not escape Itachi's notice that in his father's list of importance, Itachi's strength came before their blood relation. But he said nothing on the matter.

"There are very few Konoha nin with skills adequate for such a mission," Fugaku said. "The villagers of Kirigakure have been suspicious of strangers for a long time, considering the bloody history of their village. In order to complete this mission successfully, I need two ninja with high stealth and the ability to extract information without drawing attention."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Surely there are many Anbu who are more suited to the job—"

"The Anbu are needed _here_ ," Fugaku insisted. "They are to guard the village walls. I have said this already, Itachi." He paused, his tone lowering. "Naturally, Yamanaka Inoichi would be perfect for the job. His information gathering abilities are some of the finest I've seen. But I want this mission to be carried out by nin that I can trust."

The venom in these words did not go amiss. Itachi had not forgotten the incident many years ago in which the Yamanaka, Nara and Amikichi clans teamed up to strike a rebellion, only the result had been many further losses including the loss of Yamanaka Inoichi's arm. From that point on, a curfew and lockdown on all inter-clan mingling was ensued as a means of preventing further conspiracy. The trio of clans had made a formidable enemy, and if it had not been for an agent collecting information from the inside – not unlike Itachi's role prior to the Coup – the Uchiha clan would have fallen easily.

 _Information is truly the most valuable weapon of all._

"However," Fugaku said, breaking Itachi's reverie, "I would also like your recommendation for a suitable partner on this mission."

Whilst the mission could technically be achieved by one ninja working solo, two nin together maximised the amount of information gathered whilst still remaining inconspicuous. And from the moment that Itachi saw the mission slip, he knew that this was an opportunity that he could not let slide.

"I have someone in mind," Itachi replied. Fugaku was silent, waiting for him to explain. "I have reason to believe that Haruno Sakura would be an asset on this mission." Fugaku's expression darkened but Itachi continued regardless. "As you know, her chakra control is flawless, meaning that she would be able to subdue her chakra to conceal her kunoichi background without fail. In addition, she would also be able to hold a henge with the precision needed not to invoke suspicion."

Fugaku looked less than impressed. His lip curled as he spoke. "As I said, I want somebody who I can trust."

"You trust me," Itachi interjected, "and I can assure you that I would keep watch over her at all times."

Fugaku considered this for a moment, although Itachi could see his barely concealed displeasure at the thought of Sakura on such an important mission.

After a moment's thought, Fugaku gave Itachi a reluctant nod. "I don't like this. But I trust your judgement, Itachi. Do not let me down."

With that, Itachi bowed and left the office. As far as he knew, Sakura's last mission had involved gathering medicinal herbs from a rural village at the very border between Fire country and Wind country. Whilst it would have been a peaceful mission, he suspected that deep down Sakura missed taking on higher ranked missions. Itachi had a feeling that when he told her about their mission together, she would be thrilled. At thought of Sakura's excitement, Itachi smiled.

* * *

Later that afternoon when Sakura had left her team, she decided to pay Ino a visit. This time, she had several hours to before curfew. She knew that Ino would be dying to gossip and chat freely without a timer over their heads.

The two guards at the gates of the Yamanaka compound were different than the last time. In fact, Sakura recognised one of the guards as Uchiha Tomoharu – a chunin only a couple of years younger than her whom she had once saved after a botched mission. He had been carried into the hospital with his leg slashed in several places and the early symptoms of Septicaemia. If it hadn't been for his team bringing him in so quickly, Tomoharu wouldn't have made it. Although Sakura had always made it clear that his teammates were the real heroes, Tomoharu had always stressed his gratitude toward her.

As Sakura approached the Yamanaka compound, she saw recognition flash through Tomoharu's eyes. He gave her a boyish grin.

"The gods must be rewarding me," he said. "It's been a long day and I didn't think I would be lucky enough to run into you, Sakura-sensei."

She smiled at him – it was an automatic reaction. Tomoharu was just like that; he gave off so much warmth as a person that it was hard to place him beside his relatives, most of whom were consumed by hatred. At this thought, she remembered with a pang of sadness, that in Itachi's memories Shisui had possessed a similar warmth.

"Believe me," she said, "I'm the lucky one. How have you been Tomoharu-kun?"

"Sama." The other guard's voice cut through. He was glaring at Sakura. "You may refer to him as 'Uchiha-sama' and nothing less."

Sakura sighed. She noticed that Tomoharu seemed uncomfortable with his comrade's prickly attitude. "I guess we will have to catch up another time," Tomoharu said. This time, his smile was forced.

"I suppose so," she said. "Perhaps when you are not on duty."

He nodded, and his mannerisms shifted, taking on an air of formality. "In that case, you may proceed, Sakura-sensei."

Sakura bowed and walked through the web of chakra. It was strange watching how Tomoharu's personality warped as he took on a more professional stance. It seemed wrong somehow. He was twenty. A chunin. If it weren't for the lack of Uchiha Anbu, he wouldn't be stuck on guard duty.

 _At least he reached his twentieth birthday. Shisui and Izumi weren't so lucky._

The thought weighed on her mind. Things had not changed. Not really. Whether it was Shisui, Itachi, Izumi, Tomoharu or even herself, children had always been forced to grow up a little too fast.

 _Don't think about it. It's your day off._

The voice in the back of her mind was right. This day was a gift. She should be looking forward to seeing Ino rather than dwelling on the cruel reality of the world around her. She ploughed on through the Yamanaka district until she came to Ino's door, and upon knocking, she was confronted by Ino's mother who explained that Ino was not home. She was training, apparently. Thanking Ino's mother, Sakura headed to the Yamanaka training grounds. There was something about the Yamanaka training grounds that soothed Sakura. Whilst the central area had been cleared and mowed for ease of training, the grounds themselves were centred in a large meadow. Around the perimeter of the main grounds, the grass was sweet with wildflowers that many years ago Sakura and Ino had strung together to make necklaces and fairy crowns.

"Ino-pig!" Sakura called, shin-deep in wavy grass and flowers. She peered through the woods and foliage surrounding the grounds. "It's me! I heard you were out here!"

There was the sound of twigs and branches snapping. Seconds later, a purple blur hopped out of a tree. Sakura grinned as Ino made her way toward her. She was sweating and seemed exhausted, but beamed at the sight of Sakura.

"Hey Forehead." Ino greeted her with a hug and a squeeze. "You're lucky you came now because I was just thinking of taking a breather. Come sit with me."

The two sat against the trunk of a large oak. Ino sipped at a water bottle and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her wrist. Sakura closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the tree. The afternoon sun warmed the exposed skin of her arms and ankles, and Sakura felt like she could fall asleep right then and there.

"So Uchiha Itachi, huh?"

Sakura tensed. She opened her eyes to find that Ino had a knowing smile on her face. "What do you mean?" Sakura said. "What about him? You know you forgot the honorific, what if somebody heard you?."

"Don't play dumb with me, Forehead. I saw you together."

"S-saw us?"

"Yep. I saw you eating dango with that fine hunk of man meat," Ino said. Sakura's stomach churned. Last time she spoke with Ino, she had tried to be careful. How much did Ino actually know? And did she overhear their conversation at the dango shop? "So Forehead," Ino added, "care to explain what you were doing dining out with the Hokage's right hand man?"

Sakura shook her head, hoping that Ino would drop the subject. "It was nothing. He was asking about a project I'm working on at the moment, you know, at the hospital."

"Yeah, sure he was," Ino snorted. "Don't lie to me, Sakura. I know you. Other people probably can't tell, but whenever you're talking about work you go all rigid and professional… kind of like a cardboard cut-out. Anyway, I know you weren't talking about work. You were way too relaxed for that."

Sakura waved her hand in dismissal. "It really was nothing, Ino."

"Sakura I told you not to lie to me," Ino insisted. She paused and then lowered her voice. "Last time we spoke you said that someone was asking you to choose between yourself and the greater good or whatever it was." Sakura opened her mouth to tell her that back then she had been speaking hypothetically, but Ino raised a finger to cut her off. "Sakura, is Uchiha Itachi blackmailing you or something?"

"What? No!"

"Then why the hell is he asking you such weird stuff about the greater good? Be honest with me this time."

Sakura's heart fluttered nervously. She desperately wanted to confide in somebody, just so she didn't feel like she was harbouring secrets. But she couldn't drag Ino into this. The fewer people who knew that Itachi was planning to usurp his father right from under his feet, the better. I can't, Ino-pig," she answered. "I just can't risk it."

Sakura thought that Ino would be mad, irritated that Sakura could possibly keep something from her. But to Sakura's relief, Ino sighed and gave her a weary smile.

"Sure, Forehead. I understand. But if whatever you've gotten yourself into becomes too much for you, you can always let me in."

At times like these, Ino felt like the sister that Sakura never had. It wasn't that Sakura didn't trust Ino enough to tell her. Rather, she felt that if she spoke about it out loud – without Itachi's reassuring presence – the information could be leaked and Itachi would lose his advantage against his father. If word got out that Itachi was a pacifist, he would no longer be in line for the position of Hokage. He would lose all power to return the peace to Konoha and build bridges with neighbouring countries.

The butterflies in Sakura's chest ebbed away and with an exhausted smile, Sakura slid down the tree trunk until their heads rested against one another. "Thanks, Ino-pig."

"No problem, but if that damn Uchiha causes any problems let me know and I'll pulverise him."

Sakura laughed dryly and once again closed her eyes. She still had time left before curfew, so she could enjoy the peace. The sweetness of flowers lingered in the air. Above the trees, swallows darted in lines. It dawned on Sakura that the throbbing in her temple had dulled and her muscles had relaxed, and slowly, with her head against Ino's, she felt herself doze off.

 _It's moments like this that give me the strength to stand on Itachi's side. I want to fight for this moment right here._

* * *

A/N: Yeah I took my time with this chapter. Every time I wrote it something about it wasn't right so I ended up rewriting parts of it and rearranging some of the scenes. It took a fair amount of time.

Noir Fox \- You honestly have no idea how much I love reading your comments, haha. They're always so full of energy!

Joys \- Thank you for your review! I've taken on board what you've said about how not all Uchiha are consumed by hatred. Your comment got me thinking that it would be the older generations that are more consumed by hatred because they have a wider understanding of the Uchiha clan's history of ostracism. I realise that the younger generations (as in Sasuke's age group) would be a little more put off. In this chapter I let Sasuke be easily swayed like Izumi to a degree, but that is only because in canon he didn't really stop to question anything around him (like Itachi's reasons for killing the clan). But I hope you like Tomoharu! I imagine him as being a mixture between Shisui and Naruto.

saralynfara \- The slug thing actually was meant to be played for laughs. I'm sorry it didn't come across well. Though it might have something to do with different types of humour? I'm from the UK and I don't know about yourself but perhaps my playing the joke straight and factual has something to do with this. Or maybe I'm overthinking it. Either way, I'm sorry it weirded you out!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Nine

Sakura almost had a heart attack when she turned to see Itachi leaning against the doorframe of her kitchen. The glass bowl of miso soup she had been holding slipped through her fingers. It would have hit the tile floor and shattered if she hadn't come to her senses, her hand shooting out to catch it. Aside from a few large droplets that flew from the bowl, her soup was saved.

"That was your fault," she told him with a scowl. Grabbing a cloth from the countertop she mopped at the splattered soup on the floor.

"I have a mission for us."

She sighed. "Tell your father that we don't need anymore herbs. The hospital has more than enough to last us for the next month provided that we don't have an epidemic anytime soon."

"It's an infiltration mission in Kirigakure."

Her head snapped up to see his amused smile. No. She couldn't have possibly heard that right. An infiltration mission? It had to be a mistake. Fugaku never sent her on field missions. Even missions involving outbreaks of disease in rural villages were often given to other medics that were deemed less likely to conspire behind his back with one of the legendary sannin. Itachi's words swam around in her head until something clicked. "Us? You're not just an escort?"

He nodded. "I am not assigned to escort you. I have requested your presence as a partner. On this mission we are of equal standing."

She leapt up and threw her arms around him. She couldn't believe it. A mission. But not just any mission. One where she was a partner, an equal. She wasn't going to be watched over or chaperoned out of distrust. She needed to repay him in some way or another, but how?

 _Perhaps some homemade dango?_

As her initial excitement wore off she gradually became aware that Itachi was not hugging her back. He was solid as concrete beneath her arms.

 _Oh no. I just realised how awkward this is now._

Mortification swept over her as she realised that she had probably jumped the gun somewhere. She didn't know him all too well, even if they knew more of each other now than they did several weeks ago. She knew his memories and his pain, but as far as actual interaction went….

 _And Sasuke's mentioned before that he's not a touchy-feely kind of guy._

Head lowered and grimacing, Sakura had started to release him when she felt the weight of a hand on the crown of her head. It was a simple gesture. One that suggested that he was trying to diffuse the strangeness of the situation, even if it didn't really help. She appreciated it nonetheless.

"You're welcome, Sakura," he said as she stepped away from him. "I will see you tomorrow morning at the gates. Make sure to pack enough for an indeterminate amount of time, and be sure to include civilian clothes in your bag."

She nodded and said, "I'll be there."

He bowed his head, and with no forewarning his body split, disintegrating into crows that arched their wings and flew out of the open window above the sink. When the last crow had gone, the kitchen was silent. It ached with the lack of his presence. But Sakura pushed this feeling away because she needed to share her good news and say her goodbyes. Grinning to herself, she grabbed a sweater and headed out. This time, the ramen was on her.

* * *

"I'm surprised. Naruto is usually the first one to get here," Sakura mused. On either side of her, Kakashi and Sasuke hummed in agreement. The booth was warm and the scent of ramen was hot and salty and oh so tempting, but it wouldn't be fair on Naruto to start eating without him. Sakura sipped her sake to dampen her hunger.

"Give him some time," Kakashi said, "I'm sure he'll have a good reason."

"I know, I know. I just…"

"Just what?" Kakashi prompted.

She thought it over, wondering whether she should just spill and tell them the good news. She wanted to tell them when the team was all together, but then again, it wouldn't matter too much if she told Kakashi and Sasuke already, would it?

"What is it, Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"Fine then," she admitted in defeat, "I called you all out here because I have something to tell you." Kakashi and Sasuke silently waited for her to explain. "I have a mission," she said. "And it's not herb picking again." A glimmer of intrigue flashed across their features, but before either of them could ask, she whispered excitedly, "I can't tell you much, but it's an infiltration mission."

Kakashi looked pleasantly surprised by the news, like he was proud that she was finally getting some field action again. On the other hand, Sasuke's face betrayed a myriad of emotions: shock, confusion, suspicion. Eventually he said, "my father never gives you missions like that. How did you manage to convince him?"

"I didn't. Your magical amazing brother convinced him that my abilities were needed."

"Uchiha Itachi?" Kakashi murmured.

"My brother? He really requested you for a mission?"

"Yep. For whatever reason, he requires my skill."

Sasuke thought it over carefully, then he nodded slowly. "I guess even aniki can see that your talents are being wasted in a herb garden."

"Hey, don't hate on the herbs Sasuke-kun, they save lives more often than you'd think."

He hid his smile behind his sake cup. "I know. I was teasing."

Sakura didn't feel too much hesitation at telling her team about her mission. After all, it wasn't a secret that she was going on a mission with Itachi – even Fugaku, the man who they both stood against, knew all about this mission. No, she wouldn't be giving anything away by telling Kakashi and Sasuke this much. If anything, it would be strange if she failed to mention it at all.

"Before you both leave I'll have to thank him for giving you a chance," Sasuke said. "But Sakura…." His tone lowered. "Just be aware. My brother is very serious. He made Anbu captain at thirteen. He's pretty calculating, and missions with him aren't like missions with Team Seven. He's ruthless and he'll do whatever it takes to complete the mission."

"It's true, Sakura," Kakashi added. "He has his own rules when it comes to going about his missions, and if he gives you instructions, just do it. Don't challenge him. He almost always has a reason for everything he does."

"Okaay," she said. "Why are you warning me about this? If anything, he sounds like a guy dedicated to his village."

"Because my brother isn't like you or me or the idiot. Just don't let it get to you if he seems cold or strict. As a leader he's not as light-hearted as Kakashi is. Even jounin and Anbu complain about him being a strict captain. It's just something to bear in mind."

Sakura scowled and downed a cup of sake. It seemed more like they were putting a damper on her good news rather than being pleased that she was finally getting back out into the field again. What did they think she would expect? Fun and games on an infiltration mission? Yet despite how bitter she was about it, deep down she appreciated their concern for her wellbeing.

As if he could read her mind, Sasuke said, "still, this mission will be good for you. It's been too long since you were allowed to do something like this. And if my brother gets too arrogant or if he doesn't give you a break, just tell him that you know about the blanket he still has in his wardrobe."

"A blanket?"

Sasuke smirked. "Our aunt knitted it for him when he was a child and he used to fall asleep holding it. It's been twenty years and he still has it."

Sakura snorted and downed the last of the sake in her cup. "I'm definitely keeping that in my arsenal."

She tried to stifle a giggle at the thought of Itachi keeping hold of something so sentimental. It didn't seem particularly odd now that she knew him better. But that didn't change the fact that he was considered an intimidating man amongst civilians and shinobi – an impression that she had shared for the majority of her life. Even as a child before and after the Coup, she had been wary of Itachi whenever she saw him in the streets.

Once, about a year before the Coup took place, she had been running out of the Academy doors at the end of the day. A group of girls were chasing her across the yard throwing bits of food leftover from lunch. They were laughing at her because of her forehead and the clumps of rice that had landed in her hair. She had run through the Academy gates and rounded the corner before slamming into someone. Her knees had buckled and she collapsed to the ground, and when she opened her eyes she let out a scream. His eyes were so red and piercing and his mouth was sharply downturned. He reached his hand toward her until it loomed inches from her face, and out of sheer terror Sakura scrambled to her feet and set off home, crying.

At the time she had been scared out of her wits by the strange red eyed young man who looked faintly like the vampires she read about in books. But in retrospect, Itachi was probably just taking a walk to the Academy to collect Sasuke. And he wasn't reaching out strangle her or grab her by the scruff or even drain her of blood, but to brush the rice out of her hair. Sipping her sake, Sakura thought it was funny how her opinion of Itachi had suddenly taken a one-eighty degree turn—

"Oi, get off me! I'm only going to Ichiraku ramen! What's the big idea?!"

Sakura froze before hurrying off her stool, out of the booth and into the street. Behind her, Kakashi and Sasuke did the same, and she felt the tense surge their chakra signatures as they watched a patrol officer dragging a writhing Naruto toward the booth by the collar of his jacket.

"Bastard! Let go of me!" Naruto yelled, kicking at the officer, who avoided his blows as though their were dealt by a small child throwing a tantrum. At the sight of Team Seven stood outside Ichiraku, the officer hurled Naruto toward them. Sakura and Kakashi struggled to catch him as he skidded across the dirt.

Sakura's eyes zeroed in on a series of cuts, scrapes and bruises decorating Naruto's shins and hands. "What's going on?"

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "Explain," he said.

The officer coldly looked between them. "Your monkey over there was found at the gates of the Hyuuga compound attempting to engage the guards in battle."

Kakashi opened his mouth to respond but he was cut off as Naruto yelled, "yeah, because your bastard friends were bothering Hinata-chan!"

The officer flashed his Sharingan at Naruto, who stood his ground and met the officer's gaze equally. "My 'bastard friends', your _superior officers_ , are merely doing their job. It is not your place to interfere with the Uchiha." Ignoring Naruto's protestations, the officer turned to walk away. As he did, he paused to let his eyes roam over Sakura. He muttered something under his breath, quietly as so not to draw attention but just loud enough that their trained ears heard it clear as day.

"Traitor."

Sakura curled her fists. Naruto's jaw tightened. He opened his mouth to hurl an insult, when Kakashi spoke in a low and dangerous tone. "You're going to have to leave."

" _You're_ asking _me_ to leave?"

"I am."

The officer made no move to do so. "And if I don't…"

"If you don't I will force you, and if that happens you're going to wish that you had chosen to walk away of your own volition."

The officer's lips curled. "What are you going to do, use your Sharingan on me?"

Kakashi's remaining eye widened briefly, then narrowed again with barely restrained fury. Sakura felt her heart pound and ache at the cruelty of the officer's comment.

 _How dare he! How dare he bring that up! That bastard._

At the pride in the officer's expression, Sakura felt her patience shatter. Deep down, she knew that no matter what ramifications her actions tonight would cause, it wouldn't matter. She wouldn't care, because at least she'd have stuck one up for Kakashi. Her fist shot out, blue and charged with chakra, toward the officer's chin. But before it made contact, a hand clamped down on her wrist.

"Etsuji," Sasuke spoke. His voice was calm and collected, yet there was an air in it that demanded authority. He looked at Sakura, and instantly she knew that he was asking her to stand down and trust in him. She nodded and he released her wrist.

The officer bowed deeply. "Yes, Uchiha Sasuke-sama?"

"You _will_ do as you are told. You are going to leave quietly, and you are going to forget that this incident ever happened," Sasuke said. "If you don't, you can forget all about that promotion you have been asking my father for."

With a flicker of annoyance, the officer bowed a second time. However, the bow was exaggerated and satirical. Sasuke's lips thinned at the action, but he said nothing. "Very well," the officer said. "Have a good evening, Uchiha Sasuke-sama."

Without a backward glance, the officer left Team Seven standing outside Ichiraku, the evening having been ruined. At first nobody moved or spoke, then Sasuke muttered, "I'll speak to my father. He's not getting that promotion either way."

* * *

Itachi knew that she wouldn't be late. The streets were desolate this time of morning, partially due to the fact that the sun had not yet risen but also because curfew did not end for another hour. Anyone without a pass or mission slip would be stopped and questioned. He felt the eyes of his comrades on the last stretch of the night shift watching him idly from the tops of the village walls. At least a few of them were watching him. Some had probably fallen asleep on the job.

He had not been given a mission scroll with the details – this was far too risky should somebody get their hands on it – but he had everything committed to memory anyway. Not that there was much. It was pretty standard. Get into Kirigakure, find out what they can about the Mizukage's plans toward Konoha and the mysterious seal they found on the Kiri nin's tongue, then get out. Fast.

He had already briefed Sakura about the mission details via Kin, whom he had sent to her apartment during the night. It would have been easier to discuss the details earlier when he first told her about the mission, but he had been needed elsewhere.

A sharp intake of breath from one guard atop the village wall. Itachi looked up. She was dressed inconspicuously. In gear suited for travel and speed, black and plain, but nothing that screamed shinobi. Good. She had followed his instructions carefully.

She nodded at him, then he gestured to the guards at the mission register who wrote down their time of departure. Silently, they left.

* * *

A/N: Yeah I know I'm dreadful for not updating. Believe me I feel guilty about it. But the good news is that I've been trying to get a few chapters written ahead of time so there's going to be another chapter posted next week. With that you have my word. I'm sorry about this chapter being so short. I wasn't sure when to make the cut between this chapter and the next one.

Maybe it's taking me longer to write because when I started this fic I spend forever figuring out how the Uchiha might have won and what this new Konoha would be like that I hadn't thought this far ahead into the plot XD. But I'm getting more ideas as I go, so that's good.

Sorry. Too much rambling.

Also: I know the officer is a dick in the chapter. There will be some nicer Uchihas like Tomoharu later on in the story.

Thanks for reading x


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Ten

Sakura was a quiet mission partner. She rarely spoke as they leapt across branches, and when she did it was brief and to the point. He figured that like many of their comrades, Sakura adopted a professional 'self' when the time came for it. He was grateful for this as he was hardly a socialite and aside from issuing directions, he usually kept to his thoughts during missions.

As far as he could remember, Izumi had been the opposite. When faced with danger she forced herself to focus, but during the few odd missions that they had together as children, Izumi had noisily bickered with her comrades, occasionally glancing his way with a 'ne, Itachi-kun?' that always caught him off guard.

But Sakura was mostly silent. Perhaps it was because she was a woman, not a child like Izumi had been. Or perhaps it was because Sakura had the chance to mature and grow, adapting herself to her role as a medic nin. If it weren't for the curse of hatred, Izumi would have had that chance.

They travelled for hours with minimal breaks before they eventually stopped at a cave that Itachi was well acquainted with. It was small and concealed behind a cluster of trees and foliage, but it would do the job. He set his pack down as Sakura poked at the charred remains of an old fire.

"Are you sure this place is safe? It looks like people have set up camp here before."

"I'm sure," he said. "I've sheltered here during missions to the Land of Tea."

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, she got up and left the cave muttering something about firewood. Itachi fought the urge to ask her to speak more clearly. He knew better than to tease her. Sasuke had never directly talked about Sakura's temper, but Itachi recalled several instances in which his baby brother had returned from training with his skin splotched black and blue. Sasuke would never tell their father that he had been beaten up by a tiny girl with pink hair, and whenever their father asked him about his injuries Sasuke would place the blame on Uzumaki Naruto or Hatake Kakashi. But Itachi knew better. There was a reason why his brother's bruises were left unhealed. Not to mention that he had caught Sasuke once or twice muttering under his breath about the power behind tiny fists.

 _Your pride will hold you back, baby brother._

By the time Sakura returned he had dug out a selection of food rations from his pack. He frowned as she stumbled into the cave, her arms overflowing with twigs and branches. She dumped the branches unceremoniously in the middle of the cave floor. "Do you know how long it took me to find this place again?"

Itachi held back a smile. "Surely it's a good thing that our camp is difficult to locate. It's certainly safer this way."

She sighed and rubbed at her head. A headache, Itachi figured. No wonder she seemed irritated. "You could have at least given me a heads up. You didn't even tell me that you'd put up a genjutsu."

"It goes without saying that I would use a genjutsu to conceal our location." Sakura grumbled something that even he struggled to make out. "You managed to locate our camp despite my genjutsu. You are a genjutsu type," he concluded.

Sakura nodded and plopped herself down on a blanket that she had folded into a cushion. "I am."

A thought came to mind, the possibility that he could teach Sakura some complex genjutsu. He had countless tricks and illusions up his sleeve, many of which did not actually require the Sharingan but simply an affinity for genjutsu and precise chakra control. He had no doubt that Sakura would be able to master them.

 _She certainly has the stubbornness and the determination,_ he thought, holding back a smile, as he lit their campfire with his katon jutsu. On the other side of the cave, she was not-too-subtly avoiding his eyes a she stared at the fire he had created. It threw a warm orange light that made her hair appear red. He was considering broaching the subject of teaching her some of his genjusu when she spoke.

"Itachi?"

"Hm." She hesitated. "Go on, Sakura."

"I've been thinking a lot about your memories. I can't help but feel that I would like to have met Shisui."

This was unexpected. Out of the blue. And so he said the most honest thing that he could muster. "He would have liked you."

Sakura's eyes lit up. "Really? Or are you just saying that? Please don't be like Sasuke-kun and go on and on about how annoying I am."

"As I'm sure you know, my foolish little brother doesn't mean what he says."

"Yeah, I know. He's such a stubborn ass, if you don't mind me saying."

He didn't mind in the slightest. "I agree," Itachi said. "But I was not being polite. Shisui would have liked you a lot, Haruno Sakura."

It wasn't a lie. Not even close. He could easily envision a world in which the Coup had been prevented, with Shisui and Izumi alive and healthy. Shisui would tease Sasuke like a second older brother just like he always had, and whenever Team Seven called on Sasuke for missions, Shisui and Sakura would likely strike up a banter, teasing his baby brother and Uzumaki Naruto. He would have liked to imagine Izumi by his side, but the more he thought about it, the more Izumi's image was fading. No not fading exactly. Just displaced. As though somehow she no longer belonged in the space next to him. At least not in the way he had always felt she did.

* * *

"Is this cave soundproofed?"

Itachi glanced up. "I used a jutsu. Nobody can hear nor see us."

She nodded. "When we get to Kirigakure, how do you want to go about the mission? You have more experience than me so I'm assuming you have a better idea of what we should do."

Itachi dug through his pack for a water bottle. On the other side of the cave, Sakura chewed at her rations. "Well, the best way to go about this would be to assimilate into the village separately at different times."

Sakura nodded. "So that nobody will associate us with one another."

"Precisely. The best places to gather information are always in the backstreets, namely public spaces like bars and clubs. The best method would be that the person to arrive at Kirigakure first will take up a job in one of those spaces."

Her eyes were glazed over in distraction.

"Sakura?"

Her head snapped up and she shook out of her daze. "Oh, sorry about that. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Well," she began cautiously, " I was thinking that my team would probably throw a fit at the thought of me snooping around the seedier parts of town. Quite frankly it's ridiculous because being a ninja's hardly a clean job anyway—"

"Sakura."

"Yeah, sorry, I'm rambling. Anyway I just…" She considered something. "I remembered something Sasuke told me before I left."

He waited.

She took one look at his expression and blurted out, "just forget I mentioned it. They were being silly, it was nothing."

"Your reaction suggests otherwise," he said.

Sakura shifted nervously, picking at the fabric of her sleeve cuff. "Sasuke didn't seem too pleased when I told him about you," she said, "he warned me about taking on a mission with you."

Itachi's eyes flashed with amusement. "He did, did he?"

"He said you were strict and that it wouldn't be like the missions with my team. That you wouldn't be as friendly."

"And am I?"

"Are you what?" she asked.

"Strict and unfriendly."

She almost laughed. Thinking about Sasuke's words, she both agreed and disagreed with him. On one hand she could see that Itachi was as serious as they come, and since she was used to missions with Team Seven and the light fun that accompanied that, Itachi was quiet and silent for the most part. She couldn't share the same jokes that she would with her team. He was far too different. More mature. However, Sasuke didn't know the other side of Itachi. The side that he had showed her. She liked to think that even though Itachi was a little distant, they had some kind of connection. A kind of camaraderie. Yes he was strict. She had seen that many times, such as the brutal pace they had travelled at, barely letting up to catch their breath. But there was a gentleness to him. Something she saw in glimpses.

"Sakura, you are staring at me."

 _Oh shoot!_

From his demeanour it didn't seem as though he would care whether she agreed with Sasuke or not. She didn't detect any mockery or malice in his manner. "Strict, maybe a little," she said. "But unfriendly, no. You're not exactly a teddy bear but you're a kind man, Itachi."

He said nothing at first, then, "I would have to disagree."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. "As far as I'm aware, you're one of the kindest people I know."

She thought she saw him grimace, but she couldn't be certain due to the strange light of the fire. "I have done things in the name of the village that are inhumane, downright cruel, just to keep up the pretence that I am sided with my father." Sakura began to stop him but he spoke over her. "I will not discuss the details, Sakura. It's best that you do not know."

Sakura prickled with irritation. His constant self-blame was starting to seem irrational at this point. "Would an unkind man go to the lengths that you did to try and stop a civil war?"

"What kind of man would consider killing his entire family, even if he had a reason?" he retorted.

"A selfless man."

Itachi went quiet at that. He turned to the mouth of the cave and stared out at the thick forest cocooning them. That night, Itachi offered to keep first watch. The air between them seemed stilted after their discussion, and Sakura could feel it grating away at her. She hated situations like these where she was no longer sure where she stood with the other person. And was this considered a falling out? Was he angry at her?

 _No. He's angry at himself._

She curled up like a hedgehog in her sleeping bag. She tried to push away the thoughts of Itachi that were plaguing her head, but it was impossible. She didn't know how long she lay there before her exhaustion caught up with her and she gave in to sleep. Her dreams were heavy and clouded with colours and faces and ingredients for antidotes. She saw flashes of her team and the officers patrolling the streets. She was walking down Konoha's market. In the distance, an officer met her gaze squarely. He was headed straight towards her. What could she possibly have done wrong – she was just walking, wasn't she? She tried to divert away from his path, to avoid him at all costs. Even if she was innocent it was always a good idea to stay out of officers' way. And it worked, but as he passed by several feet away, he coughed a thick wet cough that tugged at her medic instincts. Another cough, this one louder. Closer.

She woke on her back, staring at the cave roof.

 _That was a weird dream. I could have sworn…_

A cough.

The sound was damp and sticky, and it came from the mouth of the cave. Slowly, she angled her head toward the cave entrance. The hunched silhouette of Itachi was clearly visible despite the darkness outside. He was holding a rag to his face. A handkerchief. When he pulled it away, she saw the dark splodges that stained the fabric.

 _Blood_.

She inhaled sharply. Itachi turned, tucking the handkerchief away in his pocket as he did so. His red eyes bore into hers and she found herself unable to move. Her limbs had locked into place and whilst hot fear shot through her, she couldn't look away.

 _Is this a jutsu?_

Within seconds her paralysis melted away and she realised that yes, he had put her under a mild genjutsu. A harmless one, but even so she really didn't appreciate it.

"What the hell was that for," she snapped, unzipping herself from her sleeping bag. The fire had died out and the cave was lit only by the moonlight that filtered through the trees. She shivered as she neared him, but he stiffened and turned away from her. However, she wasn't deterred. She had dealt with proud teammates and difficult patients before. The cough she heard moments ago was the first sign that something was very wrong here. The second sign was the fact that his initial instinct was to paralyse her with his Sharingan.

 _He's on the defensive_ , she concluded, _there's something else that he's hiding._

"Go back to sleep, Sakura." His voice was strained, as though he were trying to hold down another coughing fit – the third sign.

"No."

His tone sharpened. "Sakura, leave matters be and go back to sleep. That's an order."

"You expect me to pretend that you didn't just cough blood?" she said, undeterred. "Let me take a look."

"This is not something I am willing to discuss."

"And it's not something I'm willing to ignore."

She circled him until he had no option but to look at her. Her eyes zeroed in on a smear of dried blood on his palm. He closed his fist immediately. Kneeling down, she placed her palms on his shoulders, sending her chakra into his trachea and his lungs. His chakra resisted against hers at first, but with a stern look from her, he backed down and allowed her to work.

"Have you had any chest pain along with this?" she asked.

"It comes and goes."

"I see. Any dizziness or light-headedness?"

"Occasionally. Usually during or after a battle."

"And how long have you had this problem?"

He thought for a moment. "Since childhood."

"Hmm." She probed his lungs with her chakra, inspecting the build up of mucus, blood and scar tissue that she found there. It was strange and certainly not something she would be able to treat overnight, but . But she quickly pinpointed the root cause of the issue. She removed her hands. "Your katon-jutsu…you've burned your lungs."

He looked mildly annoyed by her conclusion. "I'm an Uchiha, Sakura. If that's the case, the whole clan would have burned lungs."

"No. Not necessarily. Lung tissue in general is extremely thin. It's delicate stuff. But yours is thinner than average. You use katon-jutsus often and you're not giving your lungs enough of a chance to heal between uses."

He said nothing, just stared at her. Then, "Sakura, you realise that when one uses a katon-jutsu, chakra is amassed in your lungs, not fire."

She lightly slapped him over the head. There was no doubt over where Sasuke got his sarcasm from. "I know that," she chided, "but chakra is hardly gentle stuff. If I can use it to send a crack up a mountainside what do you think it could do to your lungs?" She sighed. "It wouldn't be a problem for your clansmen, but like I said, your tissue is thinner than it should be. It looks like it's just genetic too, a recessive allele most likely. But you've gone and exacerbated the problem by overusing fire techniques with not enough rest. That's why you're getting dizziness after battles, because you've got blood in your alveoli. The blood build up inhibits oxygen transfer into your capillaries. I bet you had this problem when you were first learning the Gokyakou – no jutsu?"

His lips pursed, indicating to her that yes, he had.

"I'm not surprised that you're coughing blood," she said, sighing. "Your lungs have a lot of scar tissue. It shouldn't be an ongoing issue so long as you try not to use fire techniques too much, okay?"

He didn't look too happy with her suggestion. But she was the medic. She knew best. "I will try. We will be posing as civilians for the duration of this mission, so I should have no need to use any katon-jutsu."

"I should hope so. You'd blow our cover if you did."

"However, I can't avoid using the jutsu forever."

"That's true," she said. "I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but I'll keep thinking of some kind of solution to help ease the pain."

He lowered his head, staring at the blood smeared in the palm of his hand. Some of it had dried under his fingernails.

"Thank you, Sakura."

* * *

After three days of travelling, they reached a small civilian fishing village just on the coast of Noodle Country. The air was sharp with the scent of fish and salt, and as they strolled down the paths leading to the centre of the village, Sakura was glad that Itachi had told her to wear casual clothing. If they had worn their shinobi attire, they would have stood out a mile. This was the kind of village where everybody knows everybody else. Despite this, fishermen carrying crates of their catch greeted them as they headed down to the one and only inn. They passed by a woman who was sitting on the stone steps of her house, gutting fish from a stained wooden bucket. Sakura smiled politely at the woman, who stood and wiped her hands on a towel.

"I have to say," the woman said, "and I don't normally say this, that you two are certainly a beautiful pair."

Sakura chuckled nervously. "Thank you, oba-san, but we're not actually a pair."

The woman shrugged. "You could've fooled me," she said to Sakura, "I was going to tell you that you'd really snagged a jewel there." She glanced at Itachi.

Sakura wondered what Itachi thought of women and young girls who awed over his looks. He didn't seem phased by the woman referring to him as a 'jewel' but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking behind that mask of his. Nodding at the woman, he said, "we need to check in at the inn, so if you don't mind we will be leaving now —"

"The inn?" The woman quirked a smile. "Good luck with that."

"I'm sorry?" Sakura asked.

"We don't get many travellers like yourselves around here. Usually they all go to the port town several miles south so the inn is in a bit of a state. Not much money to keep it nice."

Sakura wasn't too surprised. During a genin mission once, she learned about these small fishing towns that relied purely on their bounty. Because of port villages that focused their income on providing transport across water, these villages were not the usual stop for travellers. She and Itachi were well aware of the port village south of this one, but they decided that it would be wise to set up a base, of sorts, in a village that was far, but not too far, from Kiri's main transport system with the mainland. Port towns were frequented by shinobi who were setting out on missions or returning home, and Itachi thought it best to reduce the risk of encountering nin in general. Even if they intended to use Henges to infiltrate Kirigakure, all it took was one sensory nin to recognise their chakra. It wasn't worth the risk.

"Thank you for warning us but I'm sure we will manage." Itachi replied smoothly.

"It was good to meet you, oba-san," Sakura said. "I hope we meet again." They left her to gut her fish on her front steps.

As they descended a slope that led closer to the coastline, the grey shape of the inn came into view. It was a squat building. Not particularly impressive. After listening to the woman, Sakura didn't allow herself to get her hopes up. And besides, it didn't matter what kind of state the inn was in. It was only a base for the mission. She would be setting out to Kiri soon enough.

The lobby area of the hotel was dimly lit by several wall lamps. There was nobody behind the reception desk and Itachi had to ring a bell that was left beside a note taped to the desk that read 'please ring for service'.

At first, there was no response to the bell. Just silence. Then footsteps pattered down a hallway to the left of the desk, and a pair of dark eyes peered around the corner. The rest of the person's face was concealed by the wall, but by the looks of it they were young, or shorter than average.

"Erm, we're here for a room," Sakura said.

The eyes widened then disappeared once again. "Papa!" they heard. "Papa! There are people here!"

Sakura looked to Itachi, who stood impassively by her side. She had realised by now that the tiny person could only have been a child. The child of the inn's owner, it seemed. The footsteps returned, only this time they were accompanied by a set of heavier, slower feet. From the same hall, a portly man came into view with a little girl by his side. The girl's dark eyes indicated that she was the same child from before.

"Good day to you both. Are you looking for a room?" the man asked with a gentle smile. His hair was greying at the roots, but his skin was smooth.

"We are," Itachi replied. "Ideally one room with two separate beds."

The man looked at what seemed to be a registry of available rooms. "Hmm. I have rooms available, but I don't have any with two single beds. I'm afraid lots of single rooms have been taken by tradesmen at the moment. It's a good fishing season. First good season in a long time, let me tell you. Although, if you don't mind sharing, I do have a room with a double bed."

"That would be satisfactory," Itachi said. The man smiled and handed over a key attached to a wooden rectangle with the number twelve painted on it.

Sakura had mixed feelings about the fact that she and Itachi were to share a double bed. On one hand, she felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought that technically she would be sleeping next to her fiancé. Sure, their little marriage deal was hardly a real life romance, but in a literal sense they were engaged. And then there was the professional side of her. The side that reasoned that she was a kunoichi and this was her mission. She had shared a bed with her teammates before, so why was this any different?

 _It's different and you know it._

Sakura followed Itachi up a creaking staircase to the third floor, which opened up onto a corridor. The carpet was a shade of pinky-red, but the colour was faded over time. Despite this, it was well vacuumed, which told Sakura that even though the inn didn't make much in terms of income, they still took care with cleanliness. Judging by the man in reception with the little girl by his side, this was a family-run business.

 _They're just trying to make the best of what they've got._

She almost bumped, face-first, into Itachi as he stopped suddenly outside a dark wooden door marked with a little gold twelve. "Sorry," she said, rubbing her nose which had collided with his shoulder blade.

"Be careful," he told her quietly as he opened the door to their room. She noted briefly that he smelled of sweat and soap, but all thoughts melted out of her head when she entered the room after him and locked eyes with the bed.

 _The one bed._

The room itself was cosy enough – the walls were a deep red and the curtains were a warm brown – but all this was lost on her as her mind ran in loops and circles, all thoughts coming back to the same conclusion: that she was about to share a bed with her fiancé.

 _Cool down, Sakura,_ a voice in her head reminded her, _right now he's not your fiancé. He's just your comrade._

The voice was right. This was highly unprofessional of her. She needed to get her head in gear. They weren't here to fret about trivial matters like this, they were here to gather information about Kirigakure and the Mizukage's plans. This was an extremely important mission. It could help save the village from a war with Kiri, should that indeed be what the Mizukage was planning.

 _Breathe, Sakura. You're a professional._

She had finally regained control of herself when Itachi turned to her, his expression deadly serious, and said, "Do you want to shower first or should I?"

* * *

A/N: Yep I've started falling into some of the clichés. Can't say that my inner fangirl doesn't enjoy it though. Not sure whether I've made Sakura start getting some interesting feelings too early on in the story? Is it too sudden? Let me know because it feels to me like I wasn't pushing their relationship that much and then whoomph!

I tried to edit this chapter as best as I could but I might have missed some typos or sentences that sound clunky, so I'm really sorry about that.

Although I'm glad you see you all are liking it! Thank you for making my day with your kindness :)


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Itachi showered first. She could hear the sound of running water from her seat on the edge of the bed. She was grateful, actually, that she had some minutes alone to collect herself and organise her racing thoughts. The word 'professional' was prancing around her mind and with good reason, too. She needed to get a grip of herself; Itachi was her comrade and her senior officer.

 _He's also your future husband_ , a voice in her head whispered, _and he's the dream-man of almost every woman in Konoha._

Now _that_ was something she couldn't deny. Her colleagues at the hospital often gossiped and fawned over Itachi. Some of the younger nurses would gush over Sasuke instead, but it was difficult to argue that Uchiha Itachi wasn't an extremely handsome man. The only thing that stopped her colleagues from either flirting or asking him out on a date was that the air around him was cold. Closed off. If she hadn't have already known him through Sasuke, she would probably have felt just as intimidated by Itachi as everyone else. Even her colleagues at the hospital would ask her how she mustered the confidence to speak so coolly to members of the Uchiha without stuttering or backing down to threat. Especially when it came to Uchiha Itachi.

Sakura had always tried to reason with things. It was a well known fact that Itachi had been present when the Third Hokage was murdered, but whether or not he was truly responsible had always been up for debate. Of course, she knew the truth now that Itachi had shown her his memories. But she had always felt a little intimidated by him deep down inside. It was difficult not to feel the pressure of his Sharingan surveying everything, analysing, but never flinching. Even so, over the years Sakura's intimidation had waned. The first time her fear of Itachi lessened was many years ago when she had been invited for afternoon tea by Uchiha Mikoto. Of course, this was prior to her affiliation with Tsunade. Nowadays, a traitor would never be permitted to enter the Hokage's home.

* * *

 _Her fingers were numb as she rapped on the front door of the Uchiha main household. It was a cold October afternoon. The blossom trees lining the streets of the Uchiha compound were bare and the sky was grey. On a day like this, all she had to wear was the yukata she saved for special occasions, but really it was built for summer. The fabric was far too thin for this time of the year. She rubbed her arms until soon enough, she heard footsteps from inside the house. The door cracked open revealing Sasuke._

 _"You're early," he said, then looking at her shivering form, added, "and underdressed."_

 _She clenched her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering. "Could you please let me in? It's freezing"_

 _Sasuke rolled his eyes and pulled her into the hallway by her wrist. He shut the door behind them._

 _"Why didn't you wear a coat?"_

 _She slipped off her shoes in the entrance._

 _"Because you can't wear a coat over a yukata, Sasuke. It just doesn't go. I'd look ridiculous, and this is the first time meeting your mother. I don't want her to think that I don't know how to dress properly."_

 _Sasuke bent down to rearrange Sakura's shoes so that they were in a neat line amidst the others._

 _"You're not dressed properly. And my mother would rather you didn't die of hypothermia on our doorstep."_

 _She shook her head. Even if he always looked cool no matter what he wore, the boy had no sense of fashion. There was no way she'd be seen dead with a coat over a yukata. It was a clash of traditional and modern. A really horrible clash that she would never be able to live down if Ino-pig saw her._

 _"Suit yourself." He shrugged and steered her down the hallway._

 _This was the first time she had actually had a good look at Sasuke's house. Sure, she had briefly seen the inside when she and Naruto called on him for missions. But she had never been given the opportunity to really look. He led her to a door that opened up onto a living room with three couches and a mantlepiece that was decorated with photographs._ _A single sliding door connected the living room with the kitchen, from which the clatter of cutlery could be heard._

 _"Was that Sakura-chan at the door," Mikoto called and poked her head into the living room. When her eyes locked onto Sakura, she smiled elegantly. "I'll be with you in one moment, dear."_

 _Mikoto disappeared behind the door, only to re-emerge once again, this time without an apron. She approached Sakura, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders and inspecting her._ _Sakura stiffened under the woman's scrutiny. Was she second-guessing inviting her over? Did she hate Sakura's choice to wear a yukata?_

Oh, Kami! I knew Sasuke-kun's mother would hate me.

 _"Sasuke," Mikoto said soberly, "why didn't you tell me that your teammate was this cute?" Well this was not what Sakura had been expecting. Mikoto stepped back and looked her over with a glint in her dark eyes. "Look at her, Sasuke. Her hair, and her eyes and the yukata... Oh, you're just like a doll!"_

 _Sasuke rolled his eyes and muttered something incomprehensible under her breath. Sakura, on the other hand, bowed and gave a warm smile._

 _"Thank you for inviting me, Uchiha Mikoto-sama. It's wonderful to meet Sasuke-kun's mother."_

 _"The pleasure's all mine, dear. Sasuke has mentioned his team often, and now I'm able to meet the faces behind the names."_

 _Mikoto gushed over Sakura for a few minutes before reluctantly retreating back to the kitchen, leaving Sakura and Sasuke alone in the living room. At some point during Sakura's conversation with Mikoto Sasuke had seated himself on a couch. His expression was one of disinterest, but then Sakura couldn't blame him._

I wonder if he's easily embarrassed by his mother _, she thought, stifling a giggle._ He's so cute!

 _"You can sit down, you know," Sasuke said, pointedly ignoring the blush that darkened Sakura's cheeks._

 _Sakura eyed the space next to him on the couch. She didn't want to beside him looking all windswept and grubby from her walk to his home._

 _"Actually, would it be okay if I used your bathroom?"_

 _He shrugged. "It's upstairs, just down the hall on the right."_

 _She thanked him and retreated back to the entrance where the staircase was. Only, once she ascended the stairs, she realised how vague Sasuke's directions were. There were several doors lining the walls, all exactly the same._

Just think, Sakura. Sasuke-kun said it was on the right hand side. That eliminates about fifty percent of these doors.

 _The first door on the right just so happened to be a coat closet. The second, a study. She cursed Sasuke for having such a large house and moved on. The third? Nope. It was locked. The fourth one opened up onto what looked like a spare bedroom as it was devoid of personal touches aside from a few houseplants on the windowsill._

Don't give up. It'll be here somewhere.

 _She released a sigh of frustration and turned to next door. As her fingers closed around the bronze handle, the door swung open. She flinched and instinctively stepped backwards._

 _Her heart thudded as she found herself face to face with Sasuke's older brother. As of yet, she had only seen him around the village, in glimpses at the academy, or at the gates returning from a mission. But aside from their mutual connection through Sasuke, they were perfect strangers._ _Now, however, Itachi loomed in the doorway, staring impassively at the thirteen year old girl outside his door. Sakura swallowed nervously and steadied herself with a hand on the wall._

 _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… erm. Sasuke-kun said the bathroom was upstairs."_

 _He continued to stare at her, his expression blank._

 _"I really am sorry for disturbing you," she said, and started to shuffle down the hall. She didn't make it three steps before she winced at the sound of his deep voice._

 _"You are lost."_

 _She smiled as convincingly as she could. "Not at all. Sasuke-kun gave me very clear directions."_

 _"You are also lying."_

 _Her smile wilted. How did he expect her to respond to that? And was she such a bad liar?_

 _As if he could read her thoughts he tilted his head and said, "my hearing is well trained, Haruno Sakura-san. I overheard my foolish little brother's directions, and I must apologise on his behalf. He can be thoughtless at times."_

 _"Oh. You heard…"_

 _"I did," he said._

 _At his polite tone, she felt herself relax slightly. Not enough to drop her formalities, but enough that she knew that he wasn't angry at her for almost walking into his room. Although, that didn't mean that she was comfortable. He was staring at her, and she wasn't sure if he was waiting for her to reply. But the issue was solved for her when he suddenly stepped out of his room, closing the door behind him._

 _"Come," he said, "I will lead you."_

 _He moved past her, heading down the hall. She followed, transfixed by the long ponytail that dangled down his spine. She had to fight the urge to grasp it with both hands, shake it, and make a wish as she would at a shrine._

If you do that he really will kill you this time.

 _She pushed away the thought when he stopped at a door at the very end of the hallway. "Oh, this is it?" she said, "Thank you."_

 _She waited for him to go back to his room, but when he didn't move, she gave him a questioning look.  
_  
Oh wait, he's staring at my yukata.

 _"You needn't have bothered to dress up," he told her._

 _She glanced down at her yukata, crumpled from the wind. "I've never met Sasuke-kun's family before. But I know the Uchiha clan is very traditional."_

 _"You seem particularly attached to my brother."_ _S_ _akura's heart skipped and her face and neck started to burn. Itachi seemed to notice this, as he quipped a brow. "I see."_

 _She felt all exposed, all her feelings toward Sasuke on full display to his analytical gaze. His scrutiny was like a weight on her shoulders, and finally understood why he was known for his interrogatory skills._

 _"You should perhaps reconsider where you place your affections, Haruno Sakura-san."_

 _"W-what do you mean?"_

 _He sighed. "Your interest in my brother will not reap any rewards. You are not an Uchiha."_

 _Her eyes brimmed with tears. As she closed the bathroom door in his face, she decided from then on that she hated Uchiha Itachi's guts._ _  
_

* * *

Sakura remembered the whole thing like it was yesterday. Only, now that she was older and more aware of the village and the systems that ran it, she had come to realise that Itachi's words that day had not come from a place of malice. He was right. There was no way that her infatuation with Sasuke would have been able to grow into anything. She was not a member of the Uchiha. It was a given that Sasuke was expected to seek his relationships within the clan to further their bloodline and traditions.

At that moment, the bathroom door cracked open. Itachi exited, the steam of his shower clinging to his skin and damp hair. Sakura tried not to stare. She really did. But she had never seen Itachi with his hair loose before. And it didn't help that his plain black t-shirt was sticking to his torso, and as he turned slightly in the light she could see the muscle hidden beneath. Sakura ignored Itachi's mild surprise as she grabbed her things from her bag and bolted into the bathroom. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, she rubbed her eyes.

 _I can't believe I'm going to be sleeping next to him. This is so stupid, shannaro!_

But then again, was it? Surely it was normal to feel jittery about crawling into bed beside one of Konoha's most coveted men. Who wouldn't fawn over him when he's walking around like he's jumped straight out of a magazine?

 _Thinking about it, is he actually aware of how attractive he is? she wondered. Probably. It would take a whole new level of obliviousness not to notice how many women make comments on his looks._

She shook her head, feeling ridiculous that she was even thinking about this. She needed to take a shower so that they could discuss the plan for the mission. Acting like a hormonal teenager wouldn't help with anything. It was hard not to take too long in the shower; she found herself distracted by the scent of the bathroom. It smelled like him. Or like the soap he used.

 _Hurry up Sakura, he's probably waiting so we can get started on planning._

By the time she was finished, her skin was pink where she had scrubbed away the sweat and grime of their journey. She threw on some casual clothes, a t-shirt with a faded image of a kitten and a pair of sweatpants that she used as pyjamas. When she exited the bathroom, Itachi had already asked at reception if some food could be brought up to their room. Sure enough, just as Sakura was drying her hair with her towel there was a knock at the door and the innkeeper carried in two trays of rice and grilled fish. They pushed the bedside table into the middle of the room to use as a makeshift table and when they were seated, Itachi sealed the room to ensure that it was soundproof and secure.

"So," Sakura said, swallowing a mouthful of fish, "we've already established that Person A will enter Kirigakure first." He nodded. "Which means that they will enter a sort-of citizenship in the backstreets where they will collect information whilst waiting for the Person B to seek them out."

"At that point, we will have to find a private space where we can share information that we've gathered," he said. "Do you have a preference as to whether you want to be A or B?"

Sakura shrugged. "I'm not going to lie to you, I've thought about it on and off, and I want to be Person A. I've already sort of come up with a story and some roles for us." Sensing that she had more or less hijacked any kind of plans he might have had, she added, "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," he said and sipped at his glass of water. "Tell me what you had in mind."

She explained everything: the backstory she had created for herself and how she would 'meet' Itachi in Kiri. They rehearsed their new names and identities until it seemed like they were actually becoming one with their roles. Itachi, for the most part, agreed with her ideas. Sometime he chipped in with different perspectives or ways of combating potential risks that could arise. But all in all, Sakura was amazed by how well they were able to bounce ideas off of one another. It had been several years since her last infiltration mission, and she remembered her teammates struggling to form a clear plan that everybody was happy with. There had been arguments and squabbling, so much so that it had occasionally put their mission in jeopardy.

But this was different. The ease with which they sunk into their roles was something that Sakura had never experienced on an infiltration mission before. She could see herself getting on well with Itachi.

* * *

The sky outside had darkened considerably since they had gone over their plan. Sakura had left to take their trays of empty dishes back to the innkeeper, leaving Itachi alone as he reclined back on his side of the bed. His eyes roamed over the book he was trying to read, but no matter how many times he scanned the words on the page, his mind was elsewhere.

There was a flicker inside him. It was a flicker that he recognised, but he hadn't felt it there in many years. Not since Shisui was alive. He had spent so long carrying the secrets of the past on his back. Like Atlas, it had become a burden to bear alone. But Sakura's presence and her knowledge was like a rush of warm water on his aching joints. He could see why she was so loved by those around her.

 _Aside from the Uchiha. Of course, with a few exceptions like myself and Sasuke. I am not sure if our mother's opinion of Sakura has changed after she was branded a traitor._

He shifted on the bed. It would be a lie, however, if he denied the image that was stuck in the back of his mind. The image of Sakura, having emerged from the shower, looking so incredibly pink. The skin of her exposed arms and neck was flushed, and her pale hair when damp had darkened to a richer pink.

 _How is it possible for someone to have hair that colour?_

He couldn't stop asking himself. And when Sakura finally returned, he fixed her with a scowl and asked her the very question without stopping to think about how rude he sounded asking such a thing. First she was bewildered, then she sulked around the room, taking her toothbrush from her bag.

"You sound like every kid I had to deal with at the Academy," she said, finally. There was something in her voice. An irritation. But it wasn't directed at him.

"Deal with?" he asked.

She leant on the edge of the bed, toothbrush in hand. "Hmm. They were pretty picky about hair colour for some reason. And foreheads," she added.

At this he set his book down beside him. "Is there something wrong with your forehead?"

She laughed dryly. "Apparently I have a forehead like a road sign."

Now he was totally lost. A road sign? Did they mean that her forehead was unusual? But how? He wasn't sure what to say in response. He didn't want to anger her, but then what kind of answer would she want to hear. So he told her the truth of the matter. "But it doesn't look like a road sign."

"Well thanks," she said. "I think you're the first person to tell me that. Why the sudden interest, by the way?"

Itachi swallowed, his mind racing. He couldn't exactly tell her that he had spent an inordinate amount of time wondering how a person could have pink hair, so much so that he couldn't even concentrate on his book, now could he?

"You have always had pink hair," he answered, slowly. "I remember you following my brother around as a child. But I have yet to encounter anybody else, neither inside nor outside of the village, who bears the same colouring as you. Would it be a trait found only within your family?"

At this, Sakura's smile wavered. "Not exactly. My father's hair was sort of a burgundy colour when he was younger, though it became a lot lighter when his hair turned grey. As far as I'm aware, that was a recessive gene in the Haruno family line. My mother, though, was blonde. And well, I guess my hair is somewhere in-between."

Itachi mulled this over. So it seemed that Sakura's hair was entirely unique to her.

 _This is ridiculous._

It _was_ ridiculous. He, Uchiha Itachi, was troubled by a woman's hair colour.

 _I must be losing my mind.  
_

* * *

After having brushed her teeth, she found Itachi in bed. He had turned away from her to face the window. For a moment, she wasn't sure what he expected her to do. When he said he was fine with a one-bed room, did that mean he was okay with sharing the bed? Or did he expect one of them to camp on the floor?

 _No, that can't be right. He wouldn't have just gotten into bed already without having discussed it… or maybe he's just an unchivalrous bastard who would let a woman sleep on the ground._

She frowned. That couldn't be right. Itachi wasn't so inconsiderate. He must be okay with sharing. She stared at the bed apprehensively. Itachi's torso rose and fell with every breath. The covers lay against his waist and she could see the dip of his spine through his t-shirt.

 _It's so surreal. Not long ago you knew almost nothing about him._

She climbed in next to him, and his warmth seemed to radiate around her. The bed suddenly seemed smaller somehow. Hopefully he wouldn't sense her nerves, or even worse, ask her about it. As she sank into the pillows, she knew that she wouldn't be getting much sleep anytime soon.

* * *

There was the splash of water as Sakura brushed her teeth, a series of rustles, then the mattress dipped under her weight. She fumbled around with the pillows and the covers. He could hear her breathing – it was jagged. Nervous. She was nervous?

With a click, she turned off the lamp, and everything was silent. The darkness was a relief to his sore eyes. He had kept his Sharingan activated for a large part of their journey, and they were currently prickling with overuse. He closed them, almost sighing as the pain ebbed away.

A rustle.

His eyes opened.

Creak. Something jabbed him in the calf – a foot?

"Sakura, it has been a long day."

Her voice was small. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kick you."

"That is quite alright. But if you could try to get some sleep…"

She curled up under the covers. "Okay," she said, then added in a whisper, "goodnight, Itachi."

"Goodnight, Sakura." He shut his eyes once more and concentrated on his breathing – a trick that his mother had taught him as a child when he struggled to sleep during the nights following the attack of the Nine-Tails.

 _Breathing in… and then out… In... and out… In… Out…_

The mattress squeaked.

Itachi almost groaned. From behind him, he heard her say, "I'm really sorry, Itachi."

He ran a hand over his eyes and turned around to face her. She was bundled up, her hair splayed out over the pillows. In spite of the darkness and his deteriorating sight, he could make out the glisten of her green eyes staring at him. "Would I be correct in assuming that you often have trouble sleeping," he asked.

"Yes," she said. "Well, actually, not always. If I'm low on chakra or I've been in surgery for hours then I sleep easily. But otherwise, it's hard to fall asleep."

"Have you tried counting sheep?"

"Ha ha. Funny man," she said, dryly. "I can't help it. It's because I'm always stressed out with the hospital."

"And it's not because of anything else?" He had picked up on her nervous breathing earlier, and he was not born yesterday. She couldn't attribute that to the stress accumulated by her day's work at the hospital.

There was a pause, then, "like what?"

He didn't have an answer ready for her. "Who knows?" he mused. "I cannot read minds." She didn't respond. "Is there something that normally helps you sleep?"

"Hmm… A few years back Naruto gave me a teddy bear for my birthday. He said that if I really couldn't get to sleep, I could hug it and pretend it was him." Itachi frowned at this. "At the time, I nearly punched him for that comment. But after a while I found that I slept better when I had it in bed next to me. I know it's ridiculous, but it worked."

"Do you happen to have this bear with you, by any chance?"

"Sorry but no," she said. "I let a child in the paediatric ward borrow it because he was struggling to sleep in an unfamiliar place without his parents around. The thing is, he got so attached to it, I didn't have the heart to ask for it back. Naruto understood when I told him."

Itachi felt his hope deflate at this, but he couldn't blame her for letting the boy keep the bear. He racked his brains until he came to a half-way decent solution.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked as he suddenly pulled his pillow out from under his head, leaving him to sleep flat against the mattress.

"Here." He pushed the pillow toward her. "It's not a bear, but it might be sufficient."

Sakura just held onto the pillow with uncertainty. "But what about you? I can't just let you sleep like that."  
"Sakura, I am used to sleeping on rocks. I am quite sure that I'll survive."

He closed his eyes yet again as she burrowed herself down ready to sleep behind him. This time, the room was quiet as his body relaxed. As he drifted off, he heard her breathe, "thank you, Itachi."

* * *

One Month Later - Kirigakure

Her dress clung to her hips as she sashayed through the corridor. The walls were painted blood-crimson and the wall lamps cast a dim golden glow on her skin. She tugged the hand of the shinobi following her, giggling when the fingers of his other hand brushed against her auburn hair before moving to her waist. She playfully slapped them away. "Just a little longer. We're almost there," she whispered.

She stopped by a wooden door and pulled him inside before locking it behind them. There was a creak of springs as the shinobi sat on the edge of the large bed in the centre of the room. Smiling, she turned and seated herself on his knee.

"I'm going to screw over that bastard Aoi," the shinobi muttered, staring into space. His breath was sharp and bitter with sake. "He knew how much I wanted that mission. He just had to take it from me."

With her fingers she lightly took his chin and turned his head to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist, one hand playing with the low strap of her black dress. She swept her hands through his hair and pressed her lips to the shell of his ear.

"Poor baby," she said, "tell me all about it."

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry that nothing massive happens in this chapter (aside from the little teaser at the end and him giving her the pillow! XD) . The chapter sort of acts as a bridge between different parts of the story. Thank you for all your responses to my conundrum last time over the pacing of their relationship! I'm going to let there be _something_ there between that hasn't yet developed into love. Like a closeness. Or a special bond of some kind.

NayBarbosa: I promise I won't stop updating :) I would have tried writing this in Portuguese but it would probably turn out unreadable! But thank you for your support.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Twisting her auburn hair into a bun, Saika retreated to her room. Compared to the sounds of the koto downstairs drowned out by laughter, her room seemed like a breath of fresh air. Well, almost. She could still hear footsteps and giggles from the next hallway down, along with some moans and cries she'd rather not have to listen to. Apparently she had been looking pale and sickly, so one of the other women offered to take her place downstairs leaving Saika free to get some rest. This didn't mean that she was off the hook. Quite the opposite, in fact. All evening, whispers had been going around that Mistress wanted a private word with her.

When Mistress wants to speak with you alone, it's almost never a good sign.

She was sitting at her vanity, rubbing her lipstick off with her fingers, when the door opened behind her and Mistress glided into the room. Her violet and white kimono rustled with every step. Her face was plump and smooth under her powdered cheeks and painted lips, but ageless all the same. She could have been thirty, or perhaps fifty. It was impossible to tell. She stared at Saika with an expression that gave nothing back – a true poker face.

Saika stood and bowed. "Mistress-sama."

Mistress nodded. "I'm sure you've been expecting me." Saika remained silent. It would not do her good to speak without permission. Mistress' dark eyes were looking over her tense frame. "Sit, child."

Saika sat on the stool of her vanity, quivering a little at the uncertainty of what Mistress was going to talk about. Deep down, however, she knew.

"You are new to this business, I understand. And when I first took you in, you explained your circumstances. You were desperate."

Saika listened with apprehension. There was more to this than just stating facts. Mistress was building up to something. She had to be.

"I have seen the letters you send, child." Saika's lips parted in surprise but Mistress silenced her with a hand. "I am not ignorant. Your family back in the Land of Noodles are relying on you, but they do not know the nature of your work here, do they?"

Saika shook her head. "No, they don't."

"It is a story I have seen many times. There have been many girls like you coming and going in this business. Believe me, I know too well that you lack passion for this work… But so do many of my girls." Mistress' voice was calm and quiet. Yet there was an unmissable coldness there. "Your family's financial situation is not an excuse for laziness and reluctance around customers. They are not paying to have their… _affections_ denied. Do you understand, child?"

Saika bowed her head.

"I want to hear it in words."

"I understand, Mistress-sama."

"Good. Take this evening for yourself. Consider whether you want to continue taking advantage of my generosity. There are not many out there who would employ a girl such as yourself with little work experience. If you cannot bring yourself to commit to your work, then consider my generosity spent."

With that, Mistress left in a blur of violet and white satin.

Alone in her room once more, Saika released a long breath. She locked the door, and collapsed onto her bed. It had been two months since she had started working for Mistress, and she was expecting a visitor to show up soon enough. It all depended on how long it would take him to find her.

She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror of her vanity. Her bright green eyes were warm and familiar in this cold room. Her visitor would have no problems recognising her, that much she was sure of.

Still, he was taking his sweet time getting to her.

 _I'm waiting, Itachi._

* * *

The main difference between Konoha's market and Kiri's was the seafood. Since Konoha was placed slap bang in the middle of a large landmass, there was limited access to seas and oceans, and anything other than freshwater fish had to be transported by merchants. Seafood was usually preserved in salt or vinegar so that they would last the lengthy journey from coastline to village without going bad.

The markets in Kiri were another story entirely. Fresh catch was brought in every morning straight from the fishing boats. The market was heaving with salmon, octopus, crabs and even squid, all proudly displayed on ice. A large section of the market was dedicated purely to seafood, and the air had a saltiness distinctive of the ocean.

Mistress only gave them one day off per week, and only if there was enough women working downstairs to ensue that they weren't short staffed. Due to one of her co-workers being struck with flu, Saika almost had to forfeit her day off, if not for another girl who had helped her adjust to her new life under Mistress' roof. Hitomi had offered to cover her shift in return for an ornamental comb from the markets:

" _There's a seller who always sets up shop between a haberdashers and a fabric stall. You can't miss him. The table's full of jewellery boxes, hair pins and combs. There was a comb I really wanted last time I was around but I couldn't buy it. It was green glass decorated with little pieces of Mother of Pearl. Please, Saika-chan! I'm counting on you._ "

When Saika had asked why she couldn't buy the comb that time, Hitomi explained that the seller was a friend of her uncle. Her circumstances were arguably worse than Saika's. Hitomi didn't have a mother and father who were alive – both were killed by disease and cholera – but she did have several aunts, uncles and siblings who were still around, although with little money to feed themselves. They all knew that Hitomi was working for Mistress, and such a job brought shame on the family. If Hitomi had approached the stall that day, she would inevitably have re-opened old wounds.

It was a pity. Hitomi didn't deserve the hand life had dealt her, and Saika felt guilty that she was lying to the girl about her true identity, that she was pretending to understand this poor girl's situation when in reality she had a comfortable job, a warm bed and her teammates waiting for her many miles away in Konoha.

 _Don't think about it_. _Sakura may not share Hitomi-chan's circumstances but 'Saika' does. Don't let your cover slip._

Hitomi had been right. It was easy to spot the small stall hiding between two others. The table glinted with glass jewellery boxes, hair pins and combs. As Saika approached, she could see that all the items were either made directly from glass or had glass decorations. The comb that had caught Hitomi's eye was sitting in the far left corner of the table, and Saika could imagine how beautiful it would look when placed in Hitomi's long dark hair. The green glass – somewhere between seaweed green and turquoise – would compliment the girl's moss green eyes, and the scattered pieces of Mother of Pearl were exquisite.

A throat cleared. The seller, a man with greying hair, was sitting on a stool behind the table, watching her intensely.

"This comb. How much for it?" Saika asked.

He shrugged. "800 yen."

For a glass comb this beautiful it was inexpensive. But even so, Mistress didn't pay out an awful lot and Saika mentally winced as she pulled out her purse.

 _It's a thank-you gift for Hitomi-chan_ , she reminded herself. _I'm going to miss her when this mission is over. But when Itachi is made Hokage, I'm sure he will form an alliance. Perhaps Hitomi-chan and I can keep in touch that way._

On that lighter thought, she counted out the correct change. But before she could pay, a hand emerged from behind, tucking a note into the seller's outstretched palm.

"It's my treat for the lady," the person said.

Saika stilled. She recognised his voice immediately. Takeshi was a high ranking Kiri shinobi working closely with the Mizukage who often frequented Mistress's place, apparently because he liked 'the company'. In an ideal world, he would be the perfect candidate for her to extract information from. But he was loyal, that much was clear. And he posed a risk to her should he work out that she was an undercover Konoha nin. Glancing over her shoulder, she noted that his uniform was immaculate just as expected. Not even a speck of dirt. As risky as it was to know him, Saika couldn't just avoid or ignore him. In fact, Takeshi was polite and respectful unlike the majority of Mistress' regulars.

The seller wrapped the comb in brown paper and handed it over. He didn't seem too bothered that Takeshi had paid for the comb in her place. After all, money was money. But not to Saika; she hated owing people.

"Actually, this was supposed to be a gift for a friend," she said, offering Takeshi the coins she'd counted out. "Here."

He smiled, flashing his teeth. "Do you really take me for the kind of man who would just take his money back like that? You don't give me enough credit." It wasn't hard to see why her colleagues swooned over Takeshi. Not just because of the remarks he made, but his smile was perfectly symmetrical, unlike his eyes. His left eye was brown whilst the right was hazel-green. Heterochromia was something Saika had only heard about but never seen, and on Takeshi it looked exotic.

Saika reluctantly tipped the coins back into her purse. "Well, thank you, Takeshi-san. It's generous of you. I'm sure my friend will be happy."

"I hope so," Takeshi said. "This friend, I wouldn't happen to know her, by any chance?"

Saika was very aware of the fact that they were still stood next to the stall and that the seller was in direct earshot. Taking Takeshi by the elbow, she gently steered the two of them into the crowds. Takeshi didn't protest, but he looked at her with mild confusion.

"That man, he's a friend of Hitomi-chan's uncle," she explained as they strolled through the market.

Realisation dawned on his features as he slotted the pieces together. "I see. That's unfortunate."

Saika shrugged bitterly. "It's reality."

"An unfortunate reality." He agreed.

* * *

For Saika, reality also involved tempting drunken Kiri nin into requesting private rooms.

She locked the door of the room as usual and looked with distaste at the man slumped against the headboard of the bed. "I've been looking forward to this," he said. "My wife, she won't let me _do_ things. You know, the stuff I can only think about when—" he hiccuped.

Saika was just glad that the private rooms weren't the same rooms that the women actually slept and lived in.

She perched on the edge of the bed and ran a hand along his chest. "Poor thing. Tell me, and I'll take care of you." He pulled himself up to whisper a list of things in her ear. She struggled to hide her grimace. "That's…dirty."

At this moment, he was already caught in her trap. From the moment she ran her hand up and down his arm, he was under her genjutsu, and intoxicated enough that he wouldn't be able to distinguish dream from reality. Before she left Itachi back in the fishing village on the mainland, he taught her this genjutsu. It was simple but effective, and Itachi admitted to using it many a time himself. Unlike a regular genjutsu, this was hypnotic. Whilst the victim was under an illusion, they lost their ability to regulate spoken language.

Within her genjutsu, a spectre of Saika was pulling off her dress and the shinobi was living out each and every one of the wishes that he had revealed to her. The real Saika was sitting on a chair beside the bed, double-checking that she had soundproofed the room.

 _His wife deserves better_ , she thought, before beginning her usual ritual.

"Tell me your rank," she said.

The shinobi mumbled his answer amidst sighs and groans. "Jounin."

"There was a Kiri nin found having infiltrated Konoha. What do you know about this?"

"Sent by Mizukage-sama…" was the response.

She clicked her tongue impatiently. " _Why_ was he sent by the Mizukage?"

"To infiltrate Konohagakure."

Saika felt herself twitching in irritation. _I'm going nowhere like this_. Taking a calming breath, she reasoned that if this man is a jounin, he would not be privy to top-secret missions, hence his vague answers. "Do you know of any reason why the Mizukage would want to have Konoha infiltrated?"

The man smiled in the genjutsu, but didn't answer.

She repeated the question, but this time with more force.

"Strange man," the shinobi said.

 _Finally, something I didn't already know_. "Tell me about this strange man."

"Only saw him once… talking with Mizukage-sama. Bandages everywhere. Yellow. I can't—" The man shuddered and flinched as if in pain. Saika leaned forward and watched him carefully. This was interesting. His reaction had nothing to do with her genjutsu – she would be able to sense as much. No. This was a response to her question.

"What do you mean, you can't?" she asked.

A strangled cry of pain fell from between his lips before he angled his chin toward her and opened his mouth wide. Her stomach dropped. His tongue had swelled, threatening to obstruct his airways, but at the very back, just underneath his uvula, was a seal. It looked like a series of black lines crossing around his tongue like rope.

 _So he's forbidden to talk about this 'strange man' due to a seal. This is exactly as Itachi described when he told me about the Kiri nin they found._ Sakura thought back to the number of nin she had interrogated during the mission. This was the first time she had seen this seal. _So the seal has only been used on selected shinobi._

Her genjutsu was beginning to ebb away. Soon, the shinobi would wake up non the wiser as to what had just happened. In preparation, Saika set the scene. She rumpled up the bedsheets, stripped the shinobi of his clothes and, with a grimace, used a cloth to artfully smear some of the man's personal mess to make it look as though something had happened between them. One she was sure that he would wake up without sensing something amiss, she removed her soundproofing jutsu and left the room.

Downstairs, she spotted Takeshi sitting in a booth with his arm around Hitomi. Stopping first by the bar, she asked for a bottle of sake. The bartender smiled at her as he handed it over the counter. Even though it had been a few months since she started working for Mistress, she had yet to learn the bartender's name. He was a quiet man who kept to himself and didn't outwardly show any disapproval toward the woman working around him. For this, he had an ounce of Saika's respect.

When her eye met Hitomi's, Saika grinned and slid into the booth. She was sitting on Takeshi's other side. He didn't seem to mind being sandwiched between the two women. "That comb looks amazing," she said.

"It's all thanks to you," Hitomi said, angling her head to show off her hair. Beside her, Takeshi watched on with a smile, presumably because he was the one who bought it, although he seemed to be content with letting Saika take the credit.

"It's the least I could do." Just as Saika had predicted the previous day at the market, the clouded green glass of the comb contrasted beautifully against Hitomi's long dark brown hair, but complimented the moss colour of her eyes. Saika's gaze softened at how pleased Hitomi was with her new hair accessory. "The green really suits you. You look like a river mermaid."

"I thought the same thing," Takeshi said, sipping at his drink whilst Hitomi giggled. "Only," he added, "if Hitomi-chan is a river mermaid, then Saika-chan must be a forest nymph." Saika raised an eyebrow at this. He was clearly tipsy. With a smirk, Takeshi explained, "it's your colouring, Saika-chan. Your hair is reddish, and your eyes are a paler green than Hitomi-chan's. You're like a…" He frowned. "what's the name for a nymph who belongs to a tree?"

Hitomi shrugged. Saika suggested, "a dryad, perhaps?"

"Perhaps." He nodded. "I only know Japanese myth. I'm not familiar with these other stories. Anyway, you seem to know a little about them," he said, looking at Saika.

Hitomi was watching Saika with curiosity too. "Hmm. Saika-chan knows a lot of things, like fishing and how to play the koto," she said, reaching across Takeshi to take one of Saika's hands in her own. "You're too clever for a place like this. I know you're going to make it out of here one day." She shook her head sadly. "You're not like me."

Saika placed her other hand atop of Hitomi's. "Don't say things that aren't true."

"It is true," Hitomi insisted. With a sigh, she looked Saika in the eye. "Please, when you do make it out of here someday, take me with you."

"Hitomi…" Shame rolling over her. She wasn't even who she was pretending to be. She didn't want to make promises like this that could compromise the mission, but she had a heart too. "I promise. If I get out, you're coming with me."

 _It wasn't a complete lie. She would damn well find a way of getting her out of_

 _this situation._

Hitomi smiled and squeezed Saika's hand. "Thank you."

There was a warm silence until Takeshi cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt, but my being in the middle of you both is making me feel a little awkward."

Saika almost laughed at the way she and Hitomi were holding hands across him, their bare arms forming restraints.

"It seems we've trapped you, Takeshi-san," Hitomi said, grinning mischievously. "And we might not let you go."

"Hmm." Takeshi sighed and closed his eyes. "Should I fight for freedom or should I just accept my fate," he mused as Hitomi leaned forward to kiss him.

Saika smiled. Whilst she had to be careful around Takeshi not to blow her cover, she couldn't help but enjoy his company. Sometimes it felt like he was the only customer who actually cared.

* * *

The boat bumped and rocked in the wind as two ferrymen secured the boat to the docks. The one passenger on the boat stood, wrapping his cloak around his body as he braced against the cold night.

Footsteps were heard as a man wearing a fishing vest appeared on the edge of the dock. "Let's call it a night, boys," he said to the ferrymen, who nodded in exhaustion. "If anyone else wants a ride they'll have to wait until dawn." Eyeing the passenger, he asked, "just you then, sir?"

"It seems so."

The fisherman yawned and offered a hand to help the passenger off. "Well then, good luck with your travels, sir, and welcome to the Land of Water."

* * *

A/N: Yeah I hate me too for taking my sweet time updating. If it's any consolation, I didn't forget, I just kept re-writing the chapter because I wasn't happy. I'm still not. It's actually pretty hard writing about Kiri because we never really saw much of it in canon.

Also, the whole Konoha and seafood thing actually makes sense when I think about it. It would be difficult to get fresh seafood when the village is so far from the coast. 'Tis interesting.

I changed the rating to M, because obviously there are adult themes going on. As for whether or not our two main characters will be making lemonade, guess you'll just have to keep reading ;)


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

She saw him clear as day – sandy hair, a mild tan and watery blue eyes that were fixed on her from across the room. He was always watching her movements with interest, occasionally sipping beer or sake as he did so. But he never approached her. Just watched. Saika never saw him enter the bar, nor did she ever see him leave.

"Your secret admirer's back," Hitomi whispered to her one day, when customers were slow and they were alone together.

Saika shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Hitomi gave her a look that said _don't play dumb_. "The guy over there. Don't stare, he'll know we're talking about him."

Saika didn't even need to look. She already knew where he was. She'd clocked his presence five minutes ago. He was currently being pestered by their co-worker, a voluptuous woman named Kiko, whom he regarded with disinterest. "Okay, I know he stares but so does everyone here."

 _If anything, staring is pretty innocent stuff in this side of town._

"Yeah, he stares," Hitomi said, "but only at you. Maybe he has a thing for redheads."

"My hair is auburn, I'll have you know."

"Don't avoid the subject. You should go over there and say hi."

Saika sighed. "I should, shouldn't I? If I don't Mistress-sama will be on my back."

"Um-hm," Hitomi nodded. "If _I've_ noticed he has a thing for you, she's definitely noticed. It's like she has eyes everywhere, even if she hardly comes down here." She pointed to some of the large prints framed on the walls. "Sometimes I think she has a peephole inside one of these pictures."

Saika couldn't fight a smile. "Shh, don't say that too loud."

As Saika made to stand, Hitomi gave her a gentle push in the direction of her mysterious admirer. "Go on. Get him. Maybe he'll tip well."

Saika's heart pounded as she strode across the room. She noted how the mystery guy's eyes widened a little at the sight of her approach. He stared down at his beer when she sat in the space next to him, resting her head on her clenched hand.

When he said nothing to acknowledge her presence, she felt a flicker of impatience. "My friend over there," she began, gesturing toward Hitomi who was watching on eagerly, "is convinced that you want me."

At this, he stared at her. There was something strange about his gaze. It was like he was looking for something recognisable in each of her features and her nerves fluttered at this. His voice was quiet and controlled. "Your friend isn't wrong," he said simply.

She laughed lightly. "You know, all you had to do was ask for me." When he didn't seem to lighten up, she asked tentatively, "Is this, perhaps, your first time in a place like this?"

His eyes narrowed, and Saika wondered if he had mistaken her question as an attempt at patronising him. Then, he visibly relaxed and told her, "no. Though it's my first time as a real customer. The last time I came to this side of town, it was for business rather than pleasure."

She was aware that she couldn't just sit chatting to a customer. She had to physically do something because Hitomi had hit the nail on the head: it was impossible to tell when Mistress would be watching. So she shifted her legs so that her thighs were draped seductively over his. He stiffened a little at this, but then he set his hand on the exposed skin beneath the hem of her dress.

"What kind of business do you do, Mister?" she asked.

"I co-own a brewery."

She was acutely aware that his hand had slipped beneath the hem of her dress now. His skin was warm but the feeling of his hand on her leg sent a shudder through her. It wasn't as if she was allowed to complain or pull away. This was technically her job, as Mistress would happily remind her should she choose to make a fuss.

"So, you're the one keeping the bar over there stocked up," she said.

He nodded. His gaze was fixed on her throat, and Saika's intuition was telling her to watch her back around this man. As nervous as she was, she had to investigate. He was a civilian, that much was true, but Kakashi had always told her to follow her gut, and it was her mission to investigate as much as possible. So, whilst she didn't particularly want to, she gestured with her head toward the door at the back of the room. The door leading upstairs. He nodded once more, following her as she led him through the bar and into the dark corridor that gave way to the private rooms.

The corridor was dimly lit as usual with wall-lanterns, and it was strangely quiet. She could almost hear the walls breathing as she led him along the way. His footsteps were slow and clumsy behind her. If he co-owns a brewery, she thought, then he must stock several other bars and taverns with drink. He has access to a multitude of backstreet establishments where all kinds of information would be shared, accidentally or otherwise.

The sound of his footsteps became more and more unsteady, and the hairs on her arms stood on end. It wasn't cold.

"Your face is familiar," she said, just to break the silence.

"I was here last week," he replied, slowly. "That was when I saw you." There was a rustling of fabric. "Out of everyone in this place, you are the one who spreads her legs for anyone who asks."

Whirling around, she grabbed the man's outstretched arm. The kunai he had been holding in his bony fist fell to the floor as she pressed her thumb deep into the tendons and veins of his inner wrist.

He grunted in pain, then with his other hand, shoved her against the wall. Sparks of pain ran down her spine. She pushed him back, grabbing his other arm with her free hand and jutted her head forward in what should have been a headbutt. He ducked out of the way, dodging the blow that would have easily knocked him out. There was a ferocity in his watery eyes. A deep hatred.

"You and all them others like you," he hissed. A fleck of spittle landed, a wet spot, just above her eyebrow. "Filth."

He grit his teeth and thrust a knee toward her abdomen. There was no way she could dodge without relinquishing her hold on his wrists, and so when the blow came, she intentionally clamped her teeth on her lower lip to distract herself from the dull throb of searing pain just below her ribs.

Her lip stung and she tasted blood. She fought the urge to hunch over in pain, and looking at his face across from hers, she saw satisfaction there. His knee rose, as she knew immediately that he was going to give it another shot.

 _Cover be damned. I don't care anymore,_ she decided.

Chakra warmed her hands. She had readied herself to launch him down the hall when the man's head flew back with a snap. His body became limp like a rag doll as he collapsed into a heap on the carpet.

 _What the hell just happened?_

"Mission completed," a familiar voice said. A jolt of fear ran through her. She turned to find Takeshi staring down triumphantly at the unconscious mystery man. "Are you alright, Saika-chan?" He glanced at her abdomen.

"I'm alright," she told him, "just surprised."

He nodded sympathetically. "That must've been scary for you. I'm sorry you got caught up in my mission like this."

"Your mission? I don't understand. You knew he was going to attack me?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. I would have warned you if I had known. It was my mission to keep an eye on him after a previous incident similar to this one. Back then, there were no witnesses other than him and the woman involved, and not enough evidence to prove anything. The whole thing was suspicious and I've been tailing him around ever since." He smiled sheepishly. "It's also the reason why I've been around here a lot. Well, the primary reason anyway. I'm not lying when I say that I enjoy the company."

Saika couldn't share his smile. For her, the attacker was never really a threat. She had been more worried about blowing her cover, and so she held back massively. If he had targeted anybody else, things wouldn't have turned out as well as they did. "I'm just glad that it was me and not one of the others," she said.

"That reminds me. You seemed to be doing pretty well there, Saika-chan. You must be a lot stronger than you look."

Her mind blanked for a split second as she scrambled together what was hopefully a believable story. "I know some basic defence," she explained. "Back in my home village a couple of years ago, we hired some shinobi to help us with some bandits who were causing problems. They were nice enough to train us in self-defence before they left."

"In that case," Takeshi said, "they trained you well." He stepped over the body on the floor. His thumb swept against her stinging lower lip. "You were lucky, however, that he was a civilian. As for where he got a kunai, I'll have to ask during the interrogation." At this, Takeshi crouched down and hoisted the mystery man onto his shoulder.

"Thank you, Takeshi-san."

Takeshi shook his head and readjusted the body he was carrying. "Just get someone to take care of your injuries. I'll talk to Mistress-san. Maybe I can get you some time off work."

He didn't wait for her to respond before he carried the man through the door leading into the main area of the bar. Saika could hear gasps and murmurs of curiosity. Saika had released a deep, relieved breath when the door burst open behind her to reveal Hitomi.

"I just saw Takeshi-san and that man from before. Are you…" She stared at Saika's bleeding lip, then her eyes lowered to the ripped strap of her dress. "Oh Kami. Are you alright?"

Saika gave her a semi-reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Really. I look worse than I feel."

"I'm not talking about your lip," Hitomi frowned. "You need to take it easy for a bit."

Of course. Sakura was used to dealing with much worse events, but as Saika was civilian by background, it was expected that she would be in shock for a little while.

Before Saika could protest Hitomi was ushering her upstairs. Even though Takeshi had said that he would talk to Mistress, who knows how long he would be caught up dealing with her attacker? Somehow, if a shinobi or anyone in a position of authority was to explain the situation to Mistress, Saika was less likely to be blamed for the incident. Not that it was her fault in any way. But Mistress would see things differently.

"Mistress-sama doesn't know what happened. I need to tell her in person," Saika said.

Hitomi had her arm wrapped around Saika's shoulder as they were climbing the staircase leading to the uppermost floor. "I think Mistress-sama would understand if you have an early night," she said. "I'll tell her, and once you've rested you can let her in on the details afterwards." She caught sight of Saika's face. "Look, I know you might feel alright, but that's probably just the adrenaline."

"I can still work," Saika told her.

Hitomi didn't seem to be buying it. "You really think I'd let you walk out like that. Even if it's just tonight, the customers can't see you like that. Mistress-sama really would kill you then."

Once they reached her room, Saika slipped into the bathroom to change into sleepwear. The strap of the dress wasn't ripped beyond total repair. She swore she had a needle and spool of cotton buried somewhere in a drawer.

Back in her bedroom, she was pushed down on the edge of the bed as Hitomi kneeled beside her and applied antiseptic to her bust lip. The whole process was painful, not because the antiseptic stung and burned, but because the scenario reminded her of Ino.

Bullies hadn't suddenly stopped their antics once Ino was on the scene. It took a while for them to leave her alone completely and move along with their lives. More than once, she had been ambushed on her way home from the Academy, and more than twice had Ino found her crying, her skin dotted with cuts and scrapes. Every time, Ino said nothing. Just grasped her by the hand and pulled her in the direction of the Yamanaka district. Whether it was at the kitchen table or sitting on the front porch, Ino would steal her parents' first-aid kit from the cupboard above the kitchen sink and patch up Sakura's wounds with a kiss on the cheek and a promise that the next day would be brighter than the last.

Sakura missed those days.

Ino's first-aid kit was good for healing small scrapes, but it couldn't put Sakura's parents back together again. There were just too many pieces, many of which were lost in the rubble.

"That should be good for now." Hitomi's soft voice broke the silence. "Though you might need to reapply the lotion in the morning."

When Hitomi left, Saika crawled under the bedcovers, blinking away tears.

* * *

As expected, Mistress wasn't too pleased with her.

"I am not a woman who craves the spotlight." Mistress' eyes were narrowed and fixed on her from the doorway to Saika's bedroom. "Do not bring any more trouble to my doorstep, understood?"

Saika nodded and swallowed tentatively as her boss disappeared. Left to her own devices, she stretched out in bed and snuggled down into her pillow. She had been given a couple of days off due to 'shock', although everybody knew that the real reason was because split lips didn't bring in any money. Not that Mistress would never say this aloud. But as far as everyone else was concerned, she was in no state to work and therefore needed as much time to readjust as possible. It wasn't like she could tell anyone that she was never in any real danger. She could have taken him out with his own kunai. But that was _Sakura_ , not Saika.

Anyway, it wasn't like she was going to complain about being given a free pass to relax while others doted on her.

Well, that's what she thought at first. After a three days of being fussed over, Saika was getting bored. She was supposed to be fishing for suspicious Kiri nin, and lying in bed pretending to be traumatised wasn't helping her mission. By the fourth evening, she finally stepped out of her room in her best dress, despite Hitomi's concerns.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? You were pretty shaken up."

Saika nodded firmly and closed her door behind her. Tonight was the night she was getting back down to work. "I'm sure. I can't stay cooped up forever," she said as they made their way downstairs. Next to her, Hitomi was trying not to chew on her nails. "Mistress is already starting to make comments."

"Okay. If you say so." Hitomi didn't seem entirely convinced. "But if you feel like it's too much you can always stay around Takeshi-san."

Saika angled her head in confusion. "Takeshi-san? He was only around here because he had been keeping watch over that guy. It was his mission. At least that's what he told me."

Hitomi shrugged. "I don't know anything about that. Takeshi-san wasn't around for the two nights after. But he was here again last night like nothing happened." Saika mulled this over silently.

 _Does Takeshi have an another reason for visiting, other than just for company?_

The two of them entered the downstairs area, emerging just to the side of the bar. The bartender blinked in surprise upon noticing Saika back to work, and poured out two shots for the girls.

Saika downed it quickly. "Thank you," she murmured, handing him the empty shot glass. Business was relatively slow as it usually was during the early evening. On the small stage at the other end, directly opposite the bar, a woman in a kimono was softly playing the koto. Hitomi and Saika slipped into their usual booth as they waited for more customers to arrive.

"He never says very much, does he?" Saika nodded in the direction of the bartender.

At this, Hitomi nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I'm guessing nobody thought to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

Hitomi shrugged. "Kentaro-san is mute. I don't know how true this is but apparently someone found him as a stowaway on a fishing boat. He was an orphan on the streets before Mistress took him in."

Saika frowned. "It seems like Mistress likes to take everyone in."

"You're not wrong. That's how she gets into your head."

It wasn't difficult to see what Hitomi meant. In the short amount of time she'd spent in Kiri, Saika had already noticed how Mistress liked to provide shelter for those who were out of options. But then if you acted in a way that she didn't like, she would happily remind you of her generosity and how easily it could disintegrate. The whole system was nothing more than a trap. No wonder Hitomi was stuck here.

"Hey."

Hitomi's gaze was tracing something across the room. Saika looked over to see what had captured her friend's attention. A civilian man had just entered and was now seated at the bar.

Hitomi looked at Saika, unsure. "Do you want him or should I?"

Saika chewed on her lip. "I'm not sure. Maybe you should…"

The other girl gave Saika a reassuring pat on the shoulder before making her way across the room to the customer. To be truthful, Saika was glad to have a moment alone with her thoughts, and if you ignored the scandalous activities going on around her, it was peaceful to sit and listen to the koto. The peace didn't last long though, as the entrance doors swung open again and a laugh echoed through the room. Takeshi was prompt as usual and this time, he was accompanied by a friend. When his eyes met hers across the room, his mouth cracked into a grin and he spoke quietly to the young man at his side. With an arm slung around his friend's shoulder, he guided the two of them across the room toward her.

The other man was a new face that she had never seen before. His hair was deep brown and untrimmed, his eyes a pale grey, and placed against Takeshi's tall muscular stature, he appeared lithe and small, even if he could be no shorter than average height. But Saika knew better than to believe appearances. This man could bring Takeshi to the floor with little effort. She knew this because his mannerisms gave him away; the smoothness of his steps, the way his body moved was almost identical to his brother. Even the delicate arch of his brow in response to Takeshi's statements had her certain.

 _You found me._

* * *

Ichiro knew it from the moment he saw her. Everything about her, physically, was different aside from her eyes. They were the same shade of pale green that he had gotten used to. And when their gazes met, he was struck with familiarity. It was a strange feeling, to find himself comforted by the presence of someone he had only known for a relatively short time.

The man beside him who'd introduced himself earlier as Takeshi, was talking incessantly about how he just _had_ to taste Kiri's local foods during his visit. Ichiro tuned out most of the chatter, only offering nods and smiles where appropriate. He had been wandering through the village searching for the cheapest inn when he had discovered Takeshi. Refusing to take no for an answer, Takeshi had personally escorted him a nearby inn that apparently had the best breakfast in all of Kiri. Upon leaving, however, Takeshi mentioned something that piqued Ichiro's interest.

 _"_ _Well, since you're all set I should be off. I need to visit a friend of mine on the other side of town. She was recently attacked while at work by some lunatic, you see."_

 _Ichiro slowly set down his heavy bags. "I see."_

 _Takeshi grimaced. "Not that these things are common in Kiri, please don't be alarmed. I wouldn't want all our visitors getting the wrong idea. It's just, well, Saika works in a less affluent side of town."_

 _Ichiro froze in thought. Saika. It was the name that he and Sakura had agreed on. A flower vibrant in colour. It fit her perfectly. As did the name they chose for him. His silence and his expression must have been easily mistakable for lude interest because Takeshi was grinning at him slyly._

 _"_ _You know, why don't you come with me?" Takeshi said. "A young man like you travelling alone must be a miserable journey. The place where Saika works, it has the best company." Takeshi lowered his voice. "And it's clean, if you know what I'm saying."_

There had been no guarantee that this 'Saika' was the same Saika that Ichiro was looking for, but it was worth a shot. And in retrospect, it seemed that luck was in his favour.

As the two men slipped into the booth, Ichiro noted the way that Saika coddled up to Takeshi's side. In fact, aside from the flicker of recognition he had seen in her eyes just moments ago, she was practically ignoring his presence. In other words, she was giving away nothing, playing her role perfectly.

 _Good_ , _Sakura._

After finishing a whispered conversation between her and Takeshi, Saika finally acknowledged Ichiro. She was studying him from his hair to his clothes. "This is Ichiro-san," Takeshi said. "He's visiting Kiri right now to sell... sorry, what was it you said you are selling, Ichiro-san?"

"Clothing. Traditional clothing."

Saika inclined her head. "You'll be selling at the market, right?"

He nodded.

"So if I want a new Yukata for when the weather warms up a little more, I should come to you?"

"Well," Ichiro replied, "I'm only here for a couple of months. Two, to be precise. Then I'm heading north west to the Land of Hot Springs. I have a feeling business will do well there, especially as the weather warms. If you need a yukata for summer, you should come and see me sooner rather than later."

Ichiro hadn't meant his words to sound mildly flirtatious, but he realised a few seconds too late how they came across. Takeshi laughed lightly. "For a quiet guy, you really get straight to the point."

Saika wasn't nearly as amused. "The last time I went to see a quiet guy, he tried to stab me with a kunai."

Takeshi sobered at this. Ichiro's eyes were drawn to the way that Takeshi squeezed Saika closer to his side and rested a hand on her waist. The two of them exchanged a look, like a silent conversation that Ichiro wasn't privy to. There was something about it that unsettled him, but he swallowed it down.

"Takeshi-san mentioned something about that," he said, breaking whatever tension was pulling Saika and Takeshi together. "He told me earlier that you had been attacked recently. I trust that you're alright now?"

Saika rested her head against Takeshi's shoulder. "I'm fine, thanks to this one." Judging by the satisfaction on his face, Takeshi got a kick out of playing the hero.

"I'd been tailing the guy for a while," Takeshi explained to Ichiro. "Luckily I was there to sort ev—"

"Sir!" An unexpected voice cut in. A Kiri nin was standing beside their booth, his uniform speckled with mud and blood. He looked tired, but alert, and his attention was fixed on Takeshi. "They said I'd find you here. My squad and I have just returned. The mission was a success but you're needed in the interrogation department immediately."

Takeshi's manner changed in an instant as he oozed professionalism. "You've apprehended a suspect, I take it?"

Ichiro glanced over at Saika and, as expected, on the surface she appeared disinterested aside from the subtle inclination of her head which suggested that she was listening intently.

The Kiri nin nodded at Takeshi. "We have the leader. But we think it's going to be a struggle to get him to talk, so the boss sent me to fetch you."

Takeshi sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'll be there right away," he dismissed the Kiri nin, then turned to Saika. "I'm sorry about this." He disentangled himself from Saika's clutches. "Take good care of Ichiro-san for me, he's new around here." Ichiro didn't know how to react when Takeshi winked at him. "I trust you're not going to try and hurt Saika-chan like that other maniac."

Ichiro frowned. "I don't have a kunai, and I wouldn't know how to use one even if I did."

At this, Takeshi seemed convinced. Ichiro watched him leave before redirecting his attention to Saika, who was staring at him coyly. She said nothing at first, which he thought was a little odd, but then he felt her. Beneath the table, something slipped beneath his trousers and curled around his leg. Bare skin against bare skin.

"People don't just come here to talk," she explained, "unless you're Takeshi-san. But he's a special case."

She was right. In a place like this, a prostitute and a customer sitting on opposite sides of a booth without even so much as flirtatious touches would seem strange to anybody watching on. He gave her the briefest of nods, and she scooched around the booth until she was curled up next to him. "So tell me about yourself, _Ichiro_ -san," she said. "Your name. I suppose you're a first born son?"

Ichiro's mouth tilted. _Are you testing me, Sakura?_

"I am. I have a younger brother, perhaps around your own age. He is desperate to take up our family's trade and our name, but he doesn't understand what exactly it entails."

"Is he anything like you, Ichiro-san?"

"There are similarities, appearance-wise. But my brother, he is…" he thought for the right word, "foolish."

Saika grinned. "Want to go somewhere where we can be alone?"

He nodded, and she took his hand. They had a lot to talk about.

* * *

A/N: Just to clarify, the name Ichiro literally means 'first son', and like I mentioned in the chapter Saika (depending on how it's spelled) can mean 'vibrantly coloured', 'a bright flower' or various other meanings around this thread. I don't think I mentioned it when it came up in the story but the name of Itachi's crow, Gin, means 'golden' or 'gold', hence why Sakura many chapters ago mentioned something about him not looking very golden.

More importantly, thank you for all the positivity after last chapter! Reading your comments makes my day brighter :)


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Once they were safely locked in and soundproofed, Itachi asked her the question that had been wriggling around in his mind ever since Takeshi first mentioned it to him.

"Tell me more about this attack," he said, once she had settled herself on the middle of the bed. He had taken the tub chair at the side of the bed nearest to the door.

She shrugged. "Crazy guy – a civilian – he'd managed to get hold of a kunai somehow. Didn't know how to use it properly though. I stopped him easily."  
"Any idea of his motivations?"

"Nope," Sakura shook her head, then paused. "Well actually, he was muttering a lot of stuff about people like 'Saika' being filth. And Takeshi-san said that something similar had happened before and this same guy was the prime suspect."

Itachi leaned back in his chair. "Anything suspicious about it?"

She frowned and tilted her head. His eyes zeroed in on a lock of hair that brushed her bare shoulder. "I can't tell," she said. "At the moment it just seems like he was a wannabe-murderer who happened to set his target on me. I don't think it was anything to worry about." She didn't comfortable talking about it. When he gave her a questioning look she burst out with, "Okay, okay, it was a close call. I almost got caught using my strength. Almost, though. I don't' know how much Takeshi-san saw, but he didn't seem too shocked by anything."

He was frowning deeply, mulling things over. "Not even a little?"

"Only a really tiny bit. But I came up with a stupid story to explain things. I told him that some shinobi visited my home village to solve a bandit problem and they taught us some self-defence."

"Let's hope he believed you."

"If you were him, would you believe something like that?" she asked.

The answer came to him quickly. "No, I wouldn't believe it. But his behaviour around you tonight didn't seem suspicious. Just keep an eye on him whenever you can. And remember that bandit story in case he brings it up again. You don't want to be forgetting details."

"Will do," Sakura said. She was picking at the beads on her dress. "So. I've been doing some digging using that genjutsu you taught me. You know how you told me before about the Kiri nin who infiltrated Konoha and the seal on his tongue? Well, it turns out that not all shinobi here have a similar seal. And the ones that do have seen something, or someone, that they're not supposed to see." He waited for her to elaborate and she grinned, more than happy to tell him. "They've all seen a 'strange man', and they start mumbling about the colour yellow and bandages. Bandages seem to be a big thing with them."

Itachi felt a lump grow in his throat.

 _Bandages_. It couldn't be. _But I already had my suspicions._

"Itachi?" Sakura's smile had faded.

"Anything more about bandages other than just mentioning it?"

To his dismay she shook her head. "I've tried to pry, but every time I ask about it their tongues start to swell. I'm scared of killing them accidently." She started to chew on her lip. He toyed with telling her to stop before it started bleeding but decided against it. "Does the colour yellow hold any significance to you?" she asked him.

Yellow held a lot of significance to him. Sasuke's first baby grow was sunny yellow with a picture of a cartoon chicken on his belly and a splattered egg across his behind where his nappy bulged out. Yellow was the colour his chin glowed when Izumi thrust a buttercup beneath his jaw one summer and insisted that it was because he liked butter. He didn't want to spoil her fun by reminding her that it would make anybody's skin glow yellow, regardless of whether they liked butter or not. And yellow made Shisui shudder because it reminded him of his great aunt's kitchen. Shisui said that the walls were the exact shade of her teeth after a lifetime of drinking tea. Itachi had scolded him for that comment. Looking back, it was that side of Shisui he missed the most. The mischievousness typical of a fifteen year old boy. As they grew more and more embroiled in village politics, that side of Shisui started to shrink until it was no longer there.

But he couldn't tell this to Sakura. It wasn't the answer she was looking for. So he simply told her, "no. It doesn't."

She sighed. "This is harder than I thought."

"It was never going to be easy," he said. She looked unimpressed by this comment. "You shouldn't worry. Even just with this, I already have an idea of who our enemy might be and why he would want to provoke Konoha."

At this, Sakura shot upright. "What? You already know something?" When he didn't respond immediately, she said, "please, Itachi. Tell me. We're supposed to be working together."

She was right. He couldn't keep this from her. And it wasn't like she wouldn't understand the significance. She had seen his memories. His history. He made sure to watch her carefully, gouging her reaction. "Danzo."

Her green eyes widened at first, then defeat washed over her features. "Of course. Bandages. You think he's going to try and take Konoha back?"

Itachi nodded. "I can't be sure that it's him. But it's likely."

"Or at least too much of a coincidence," she agreed. "So he must be working with the Mizukage then."

"Perhaps. I need to get closer to the Mizukage. But it's going to be hard since Takeshi-san is rather insistent on showing me around the best parts of Kirigakure."

Sakura collapsed onto the bed and rubbed at her eyes. "Forgive me, I'm not ignoring you," she said. "I'm just tired." Stretching her arms above her head, she added, "you know, you're supposed to be setting up a stall at the market tomorrow."

In all honestly, he had almost forgotten about that. His merchandise was kept safely back in his room at the inn. It had taken him a while to cross the sea to the Land of Water as he had to find a way of purchasing a deal of kimonos and yukatas to sell at Kiri's marketplace. "I know," he said.

"Well, there's a festival coming up to celebrate the spring equinox. Lots of people will be buying your products. Plus it's an excuse for you to take me out somewhere so I can get Mistress off my back for an evening."

"It would be a good opportunity for us to take a good look around. There will be slightly less security during the evening. Most Kiri nin will be enjoying the festivities."

"Aside from Kiri's S-Class nin, though," she said. "They'll probably be acting as security. Anyway, you're missing the point I'm trying to make. People wear traditional clothing for these things. There'll be loads of shinobi buying your kimonos and yukatas. If you slip something extra in there, I doubt they would notice."

Her insinuation was clear as day.

"You want me to bug my products?"

She shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt. We could hide them between the layers of fabric, but just to be sure we could even add a genjutsu over them." Her face fell. "But then what if they sense it. Maybe it's too risky."

He tilted his head, a silent challenge. "Are you suggesting that my genjutsu are inefficient, Sakura?"

She bit back a laugh. "You know that I would never doubt the legendary Uchiha Itachi's abilities. I'm just wary that we could get caught if we're not careful."

"Well" he said, "we're lucky that I'm always careful."

* * *

Over the next few days, Itachi visited her every evening and they talked in the small breaks that they could catch alone. During the day, however, he busied himself at the market. His spare time was spent in his room at the inn, altering his products by slipping receivers into folds of fabric and concealing them using layer upon layer of genjutsu.

Meanwhile, Sakura busied herself with digging into the minds of the many shinobi who requested private rooms with her. Though it didn't seem that she was getting anywhere. From what she could surmise, only shinobi who were closest to the Mizukage would actually be privy to the kind of information she was looking for. The nin who frequented brothels and clubs were usually jounin or lower in rank, and those that were s-class or worked closely with the Mizukage were, like Takeshi, never very big on drinking. At least not enough to fall so deep into intoxication that they wouldn't notice a genjutsu.

No, things were not looking good on her end. At least, not until luck decided to walk into the bar.

Luck came in the form of a very, very drunk shinobi with a uniform that was so vastly different than Konoha's standard issue ones, Sakura had a hard time figuring out what rank he was. He waltzed up to the bartender, demanded a bottle of sake and her company. Sakura happened to be at the other end of the bar and she tried not to bare her teeth when he nodded at her and snapped his fingers at the doors leading upstairs. He hadn't even spoken to her at all, but his gaze had definitely dipped lower than her eyes.

 _What a sleaze. Obviously he's just here for a quick lay. I doubt he's of any use to me._

Still, it didn't hurt to try.

The bartender – Kentaro, as Hitomi had said his name was, nodded at her in silent support as she followed Mr. Sleaze upstairs. She smiled sardonically. This was the only time she had ever been led by a customer.

 _Ugh, he knows his way around here too well._

Mr. Sleaze showed himself to a room. By the time she had followed him in through the door, he had settled himself on the bed, unzipped his pants and was downing his sake straight from the bottle. Whilst she had turned to lock the door, she cast her jutsu out of his line of sight and seated herself on the chair beside the bed. Mr. Sleaze was currently groping and squeezing the air in front of him.

"Let's just get this over with," she groaned. "I'm getting bored of hearing the same old stuff over and over. What do you know about a man with bandages?"  
"Hmm…He was talking to the Mizukage."

Sakura sat upright.

 _Now that's new._

Usually she just got an unwanted load of grumbles of 'strange man' and 'yellow' before their tongues swelled up and almost cut of their airways.

She leaned forward. "What was he saying to the Mizukage?"

Mr. Sleaze grinned. "Talking about the Uchiha leader. Hokage."

How is it that he's the only one who seems to have heard something? "Where were you when they were talking?"

"In the room," he mumbled. "A guard."

She frowned. "What guard? What're you talking about?"

He groaned deeply. She didn't want to think about what 'Saika' was doing with him in her genjutsu. "I'm a guard," he said at last.

 _Not a very good one then_ , she thought, but then decided that she shouldn't test her luck. It was a miracle that he had even walked in.. "If you're a guard," she asked, "why haven't you got a seal on your tongue?"

Mr. Sleaze just shook his head. "No. Guards swear an oath. There's no seal."

She raised an eyebrow. _If I were the Mizukage I would have been more careful_ , she thought. Then, suspicion clouded all other questions that she wanted to ask. It seemed a bit too lucky for a trusted guard to drunkenly request her attention and then start revealing information.

"What brought you to this place, to me?"

At this, his expression darkened and his voice trembled. "Want to forget," he murmured. "Wife is gone. She took my children too. I just want to disappear. Please. Please help me forget."

Sakura slumped over as guilt washed through her. Maybe she had been wrong to nickname him Mr. Sleaze this whole time. Even though he was supposed to be the enemy, it was hard to feel genuine dislike for him when his problems were so human. Her shishou's old words of advice sprang to mind.

 _"Never sympathise with your enemy, Sakura. You may as well just hand over your kunai."_

She sighed. The sooner Itachi was Hokage, the sooner he would form some kind of peace-treaty and people could actually treat each-other with civility. Then she wouldn't have to worry about deciding on who her enemy really was. Reluctantly, she continued her interrogation.

"What was the bandaged man talking to the Hokage about?"

Her feelings of guilt disappeared as his answer made her blood chill.

"Poison the Hokage, then steal his eyes."

* * *

When Itachi walked in, he could already spot Sakura. She was sitting in her usual booth with two companions: a man and a woman, both preoccupied with one another. From what he could tell, she had been waiting eagerly for him. It wasn't too obvious to the average person, but when she twitched, ready to jump up, as he entered the bar, she had already given herself away.

 _Did she find some information?_

At the same time, he noticed the dress she was wearing. It was a tight bottle green scrap of velveteen fabric that suited her colouring perfectly, and not just that of her henge. It was easy to imagine the green-black dress against her bright pink hair. His own thoughts struck him as odd; he had never really paid attention to women's clothing before. But it was difficult not to notice that the shade was perfect for her and she looked quite lovely.

 _Although_ , he thought, frowning as he caught a glimpse of her pale thigh, _a couple or more inches of fabric wouldn't go amiss_. If her team were here they would be disturbed by this amount of skin.

He shook his head and made a point of keeping his eyes above her bare shoulders. _What am I doing?  
_  
"Ichiro-san," she murmured as he slipped in beside her. "I missed you." Her hand drifted to his shirt where it rested against his chest. In a whisper he struggled to hear over the laughter of her companions, she said "I need to talk to you. Oh, also, you look way too uncomfortable around me. Try to loosen up a bit."

He was tempted to tell her that if he looked uncomfortable, it's because he _was_ uncomfortable, but he swallowed the comment. Itachi had been on many infiltration missions, some similar to this one. It wasn't exactly new ground for him. But he felt hesitation pull at him as he placed a calloused hand on her waist and gently tugged her body closer. As she laughed lightly in response to something said by the other woman , Itachi was trying to ignore the fact that she was too close. Every time she laughed, or even breathed heavily, her chest brushed ever so lightly against his side. His instinct was to angle his body away from her, to sever the contact. This was his baby brother's teammate, after all, no matter what roles they were playing. Even a mission couldn't detract from that truth. But there was something in side him that, like an itch, was desperate to lean closer.

"Ichiro-san?"

He blinked. The couple opposite were staring at him expectantly, as was Sakura. "I apologise," he said slowly, "I must have been distracted. What was the question?"

The unnamed man inclined his head. His eyes flickered over to Sakura. "I don't blame you, Ichiro-san. According to Saika-chan you own a stall at the market. I asked if you are planning on working during the spring festival or celebrating?"

Itachi gave the other man a polite half-smile. "I have no intentions of working during the festival." His gaze slid to meet Sakura's as he added "like tonight, I plan on enjoying my evening."

Thankfully, Sakura took the hint and pulled them both to their feet. "Excuse us," she told their acquaintances.

"Lucky guy" Itachi heard the other man mutter as Sakura pulled him away.

* * *

"I have something I found out earlier today," she whispered as she took him upstairs. "And you're not going to like it."

He nodded. His sharp features were cast in amber as they passed under the dim wall lamps. His hand was warm, and although it wasn't obvious, there was a strength to his fingers that matched her own. It was strange, the knowledge that this was Itachi's hand she was holding, that it was Sasuke's elusive older brother she was leading instead of some drunken ninja just looking for a good time. The past couple of months had been like another world, and she was starting to fear the prospect of forgetting that she was Haruno Sakura, not 'Saika' who was nothing more than fiction.

There was a satisfaction there too. His being there, by her side, meant that the initial phase of the infiltration had been completed.

He didn't speak as he followed her. She decided to take him to the private rooms rather than her actual room. It was too early for her to be inviting strangers into her accommodation, and risky too. Although things would come to that eventually. It was hard to think clearly when they were surrounded by muffled giggles and groans from behind locked doors. They had just rounded a corner into a hall when she felt a prickle on the back of her neck.

They were being watched.

From the edge of her vision, Mistress was standing at the end of the hallway, arms folded, and watching on with expectation.

 _Shit. Why is she here?  
_  
Judging by Itachi's subtle expression he had already clocked Mistress' presence. Thinking fast, Sakura pushed him against the wall. With a look that said _play along_ she pressed her lips to his. At first, Itachi didn't respond and she was starting to feel embarrassed. But then his fingers brushed against her spine and he urged her closer until she was crushed against him, the heat of his body soaking into her through his shirt. The kiss was clumsy and messy – a product of improvisation and impulse – and she could tell from his lack of technique that Itachi was lacking in experience. But aside from the fact that they had an audience, she was beginning to enjoy it.

 _That's_ _okay_ , she reasoned with herself, _he's an attractive man. Of course you're going to enjoy it._

But when he grabbed her and switched their positions, she gasped in surprise. Her back was against the wall, his fingers locked tight around her wrists, and his mouth was tucked in the juncture between her jaw and shoulder. She was stiff with shock as she felt his teeth grazing at her skin until it began to sting.

Over his shoulder, Mistress' gaze met Sakura's. She was still watching them with that strange blankness that revealed nothing.

 _Is she suspicious? Why isn't she leaving? What is she waiting for?_

It was hard to focus with Itachi's soft lips descending lower and lower, and his hands grasping her with enough force to bruise.

Then it hit her. Why didn't she realise earlier? Mistress' old words drifted into her thoughts.

 _"Your family's financial situation is not an excuse for laziness and reluctance around customers. They are not paying to have their…affections denied. Do you understand, child?"  
_  
Yes. She understood now.

Sakura's hands threaded into Itachi's hair. Or Ichiro's. The whole situation was less strange if she considered him as Ichiro, a customer, rather than her stoic comrade. She tugged at his brown locks, lifting his face back up to her own. No. He wasn't Itachi right now. He was Ichiro. Ichiro had brown hair and pale eyes, nothing at all like Itachi's dark ones. But in the brief second that their eyes locked before their lips, there was something unusual she saw there. Something she couldn't place. It was like a heat. A fire. She had seen a similar fire before, in the eyes of other customers as she kissed them. But this was different.

She barely had a chance to think about it, however, as the next thing she knew he was lifting her clean off the ground, settling himself between her legs which she wrapped around his hips. He was too close. Impossibly close. His dedication to this act was flawless, even if there was no need for him to go this far. Was Mistress even still watching?

Sakura had barely opened her eyes to check Mistress' whereabouts when she clenched them shut again as a delicious friction sent sparks through her, even through their clothing. It was hard to think straight with the weight of her lower body against his. They had gone too far with their act. If he didn't stop his ministrations she would never tell him about what she had found

She gently tugged at the back of his head. "We should go inside the room."

As if her words had broken a trance, Itachi paused. There was a moment of silence where he didn't move, but she felt his warm breath against the skin between her collarbone and her cleavage. Then slowly, he stepped away from the wall, lowering Sakura back down as he did so. His hands slipped away from her gingerly as he turned his back to her and looked around them.

"There's a free room down there," she said, moving past him down the hall.

He didn't reply. She kept her head down, afraid to meet his gaze, until stopping outside a room with gold letters that read '18'. It was a room she had used often for her interrogations. She locked the door behind them and set up her usual soundproofing jutsu, only this time she wouldn't be following it with illusions. When she turned back around, Itachi was sitting on the bedside chair nearest to the door where she would normally sit. He was staring at the carpet with his hands clasped together in his lap.

It was hard to deny the hurt she felt at the way he had removed himself from her just before. Yes, it was an act. There was no doubt about that. But when she had called it off, he had pulled away as though her skin had burned his hands. And if that weren't enough, he turned away from her immediately.

He probably always imagined that he would be doing these things with Izumi, she told herself. I'm not her, and because of this, he must be hurting too. It was the most likely explanation, and an understandable one on his part. But it did nothing to soothe her feelings.

"You have information to tell me?" His voice broke through her thoughts.

She swallowed. I didn't think about how difficult this would be.

"It's not good," she said. "Actually it's worse than 'not good'. There's a plan. I don't know when it will happen, but it's about your father."

Itachi's head slowly rose, as he finally looked her in the eye.

"The Mizukage and Danzo are planning on sending someone to poison him. They want to steal his eyes."

He didn't react at first. It was as if he were built of stone. Then he released a breath and his interlaced fingers tightened, turning white at the knuckles.

"Are you alright?" she asked, after several long seconds of silence had ticked by. "I'm sorry, I should have found a way to tell you earlier—"

"Do you understand why they want my father's eyes, Sakura?" His voice was tight and controlled. The room was so quiet she was afraid of even breathing too loudly.

 _Think, Sakura, think.  
_  
She filtered back through what she had seen in Itachi's memories. Through all the blood, the emotional storms, the corpses, something stood to her attention. "Something about a wicked eye?"

Itachi nodded. "During the Third Great Ninja War, my father was known as Fugaku of the Wicked Eye. On the battlefield he claimed thousands of lives solely with his Sharingan. Even I am wary about battling him." He looked to the ground. "I certainly was back then."

A shudder ran through her body at the thought. Itachi didn't seem prepared to delve into the specifics of what Fugaku could do, but if his eyes were as strong as Itachi had said, then they were too invaluable to allow Danzo to get his hands on them. "We have to do something," she said. "We need to send a message back home."

Itachi spoke with less urgency. "Don't worry, Sakura. I will send a message warning them, yes. But I trust in my father to put up a defence. Many have tried and failed in the past to steal his eyes. So far none have succeeded. I am more concerned with Danzo's overall plan. It's clear that he plans on starting a war, but it would be foolish to simply send in Kiri nin to attack Konoha. There is something else we are missing."

Sakura her fingers lift to her mouth, but fought back the urge to chew her fingernails. Mistress would comment if her long nails had been bitten down into stumps. With all this chaos around them, the new light on Danzo's movements, a war brewing, it was like they were waiting for a storm to arrive. Having Mistress on her back was the last thing she needed. And then there was Itachi. He didn't seem too worried. At least that's what he told her. But he must be bothered, at least a little bit.

"Sakura." She glanced up to find him looking at her, his gaze soft. "I will send a message out through my crows. Now that we know who is behind this, we can start on the last phase. The sooner we finish up here, the sooner we can return to defend our home."

She nodded and sent him a reassuring smile. Hopefully it had him convinced because inside she was a mess, just not for the reason he might have thought. Itachi had said they should enter the last phase of the mission. This was the part that gave her butterflies, and she cursed herself for being the one to have come up with the idea back in their room at the inn on the mainland.

 _"If Ichiro's a merchant who keeps on the move for business reasons, then he wouldn't be able to stay long in Kiri, right?"  
_  
 _"Right." Itachi affirmed.  
_  
 _"So then what if Saika was to join him. It would make sense. She's looking to get out of her current lifestyle, so why not have some kind of whirlwind romance-type thing?"  
_  
A whirlwind romance.

Easier said than done. Earlier in the hallway, she was overwhelmed with the awkwardness of the situation. Could she really keep that up for longer than a few minutes? It would be easier if Itachi was a Casanova type of guy who made all women feel at ease, but he wasn't like that. She shivered. Her skin still tingled where he had held her crushingly close and then pulled away so quickly it was hard to believe it ever happened in the first place. Itachi hadn't even so much as mentioned it. Could he really hold an act like that so convincingly and then brush it aside for the sake of a mission?

Of course he could. He wasn't like her. She was dedicated to her work, that much was a given, but she couldn't just sweep something like that under the rug and never mention it again just because it was necessary for a mission. And if they were supposed to be pretending to have fallen into a whirlwind romance, how could she keep up with this without getting overwhelmed like she was right now?

 _Goddammit, Sakura_. She mentally groaned. _Why do you let yourself get like this?  
_

* * *

A/N: Well...this happened ;) And they're going to have to talk about it eventually. Forgive me for being a slow updater. I have assignment deadlines very soon so writing chapters has had to take a setback.

Fun Fact - The description of Sasuke's first baby grow is based on one that my younger sister had XD But that section of Itachi's memories really broke my heart to write because of how mundane yet special these things are...

Irunai55: Thank you! I'm terrified of making the characters OOC but reading your comment was so reassuring. I'm so glad you're enjoying it!

dedicatedwriter21: He kind of did spring it on her too fast, didn't he? Looking back I should have stretched things out a bit more. I guess it's too late to change things now. | It is cold of him, but on the bright side he's been pretty honest about his intentions and he gave her a choice. | It's never really been made clear whether or not her parents were civilian or shinobi. I guess it gives writers more freedom this way, though.

RansomeNote: I feel terrible for him too. But then it only makes sense for him to still think of her a little.

Wake Up Steampunk: I know, I hate it when characters already start developing feelings for one another after only two chapters or so. It would just seem strange especially with characters like Itachi who always puts his own personal feelings aside no matter the situation. I definitely want more team 7 too! It's kind of hard right now since she's not in Konoha, but flashbacks are always an option. Hmm, i'm going to have to think about how the rest of Konoha 12 are impacted by the coup. I imagine Neji, Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba and Shino would be in a similar situation as Ino because their clan compounds would be monitored carefully, you know to prevent conspirators planning another uprising.

kayna96:  Really? This whole time I was terrified that having Sakura work undercover in a brothel would be too predictable!

Briyitt: Muchas Gracias! Por favor perdona mi mal Español, estoy usando un traductor. Estoy realmente feliz de que estés disfrutando de mi historia, y espero que hayan disfrutado este capítulo. Yo también lo amo!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Olive Branch:

'1. a branch of the olive tree especially when used as a symbol of peace

2\. an offer or gesture of conciliation or goodwill'

\- Merriam Webster Dictionary

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

The halls of the inn were silent as Itachi made his way to his room. He locked the door behind him, and, deeming that the room was still secure, entered the small adjoined bathroom to wash up. He had been lucky that he had been able to afford a room with a private bathroom. The bathroom wasn't particularly large or luxurious, but it was utilitarian and held its purpose without aiming to be anything more. He stifled a yawn and ran the taps until they were just lukewarm enough not to freeze nor scald him. As he splashed cool water on his face, thoughts about the information he'd learned flooded his head. Danzo was definitely the man pulling the strings. There was nobody who wanted revenge on the Uchiha more than Danzo. But then the Mizukage…what was the Mizukage's motivation in all this? His father had done nothing to provoke Kirigakure directly, but then, Kiri had a history of attempting to steal the Sharingan.

And then there was the issue with his father. He wasn't worried, per se. It would take an especially strong shinobi to steal Uchiha Fugaku's eyes. And his father was protective of the Sharingan, so much so that it went without saying that he would rather die than let its power fall under enemy hands. No. Itachi wasn't worried. But it wouldn't hurt to warn his father in advance. Sakura had done well to find out this information.

 _Sakura._

Itachi gripped the sink and frowned at the memory of what had happened earlier. It was unacceptable. His behaviour had been simply atrocious. From the minute he had sensed the presence of 'Saika's' boss he had known that 'Saika' was expected to be intimate with him, to do her job well. And in the way she looked at him, Sakura had made it clear that she was acting. Yet, when she kissed him, he froze as though he hadn't seen it coming. He froze, but only for a second before something clicked inside of him, and then it was as if he had no control over his body. No, that wasn't quite the way to phrase it. It wasn't so much that he wasn't aware of himself or that he lost all ability to stop.

The answer came to him insistently, even as he tried to push it away.

 _Had I been searching for an excuse?_

An excuse to do what? To kiss her? To hold her close and touch her bare skin? He shook his head. That would be ridiculous. He wasn't the kind of man to give in to his desires so unnecessarily and suddenly, especially not during a mission.

 _But I did._

He shut off the taps and patted his face with a clean towel. He knew that he should put this behind him and focus on the mission. Even so, he could still see her, vivid as a photograph, in his mind. The memory made him want to grimace. She had looked upset. Only mildly, but enough that he noticed the slight downturn of her mouth before she pasted over it with professionalism. He wasn't sure exactly what had upset her. Perhaps it was because he had been a little too forceful or insistent. Or maybe he had held her too tightly. Either way, he hadn't meant to cause her any discomfort.

Summoning his most used crow, Kin, to his windowsill Itachi scribbled a note of warning onto an old scrap of envelope that he found in a draw of the dresser in his room. He rolled it up and fastened it to Kin's leg.

"Don't fail me," he told the bird, which cocked its head at him before launching itself out through the window and into the night.

When he finally collapsed onto the bed, Itachi knew that it was going to be a long night. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling as his ears honed in on a nasal snore and the creak of bedsprings as his neighbour tossed and turned. His thoughts were swarming, but for now, he needed to sleep.

* * *

"Are you looking forward to the spring festival, Saika-chan?"

Saika cast her eyes down on the cobbled streets of the market. She stepped carefully, avoiding puddles where it had recently rained as well as the watery fish blood that pooled down from the fishmongers gutting their stock behind their stalls. The smell of fish was permeating, even long after they had passed the seafood stalls. She had encountered Takeshi by coincidence, and, as he almost always did, he insisted on escorting her through the markets. "That depends on whether or not Mistress-sama would let me have the evening off," she replied. "I don't suppose she would."

Takeshi seemed more optimistic about the situation. "You never know, she may be more lax than you think. She may even make an exception if someone were to invite you."

Saika held back a smirk. "Oh? And who would invite someone like me?"

Takeshi cleared his throat. "I don't know, somebody who has admired you from afar? A customer who sees you often both inside and outside of your work? Somebody who is always polite and respectful, unlike some of the other men you serve."

"Ichiro-san!" Saika called out, waving and smiling at the figure sat behind a stall twenty feet away. Takeshi had tensed beside her as she slipped her arm out from under his and skipped over puddles to reach Ichiro's stall. After a quiet moment, Takeshi followed her to the stall front.

"Saika-san, Takeshi-san," Ichiro greeted them both politely, sending a smile in Saika's direction.

Takeshi stiffly returned the greeting whilst Saika was fixated on the clothing folded into squares on the table. "The fabrics are beautiful, aren't they, Takeshi-san?" she said, fingering a folded blue yukata decorated with tiny red flowers.

"They are," he replied. "Although a tad expensive."

Saika raised a brow. "Really? They're a lot cheaper here than at the other stalls."

"Is that so? I wasn't aware," Takeshi said. "I don't usually shop for traditional clothing. Nowadays it doesn't seem like a lucrative business, if you don't mind me saying, Ichiro-san."

Ichiro didn't seem bothered by Takeshi's comments. "You would be surprised. It is simply a matter of knowing where to find your customers, and with the festival approaching, I have found many customers here in Kirigakure. Customers like Saika-san, here." His eyes flitted to Saika, who was perusing the stock.

"Do you have anything red in colour?" Saika asked, "I've always wanted a red yukata but whenever I've found one it's always been too expensive."

Ichiro leant forward with a deep smile. "It's interesting you should ask. When I was setting up this morning, I found a yukata that I think would be perfect for your colouring, Saika-san." He raised his hand, and with a single delicate finger, brushed a lock of her auburn hair away from her eyes.

Saika couldn't tear her eyes away from his. "You did?"

"I did. And of course, it's red."

Takeshi folded his arms and shrugged. "I've always thought you suited green more."

His remark went ignored as Ichiro reached beneath the table and brought up a folded square of fabric. As he had said, it was crimson red in colour. Branches of white blossoms with little pink stamens broke up the sea of red. Around the blossoms were black leaves, the veins of which were white. Saika's eyes lit up at the sight. "It's perfect," she said.

"I thought so." Ichiro was watching her reaction carefully.

She lifted up the folds of fabric. "I can't see a price tag. How much—"

"It's a gift," he insisted. "I would like you to have it. And perhaps," he hesitated, "you could wear it if you would do me the honour of accompanying me to the festival."

Saika's lips parted in surprise and her face grew hot. Ichiro laughed softly and said, "you've turned red. I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Saika-san."

"No no, it's fine," she mumbled. "There's no need to apologise."

Takeshi took a step closer, leaning against the table. "I thought you might be working the night of the festival, Ichiro-san?"

Ichiro shrugged lackadaisically. "A night off would not do any harm."

Takeshi just frowned and glanced toward Saika. "That's good news, but Saika-chan and I were also just discussing whether or not she would be allowed the evening off."

Saika's expression fell. "You're right, Takeshi-san. I'm not sure if Mistress-sama would let me."

"I will speak to her," Ichiro said. "I'm sure I can pay her to compensate for her losses. However much she pays you, I will pay her." Reaching across the table, he took Saika's hands in his own. "So, Saika-san, will you enjoy the festivities with me?"

Saika nodded and smiled brightly. "I will."

* * *

Sakura was giggling to herself as she sat cross-legged in the middle of her bed. 'Saika' had finally invited 'Ichiro' up to her actual bedroom, a move that would add authenticity to their budding relationship. Mistress had probably noticed already since she noticed everything that went on under her roof. Seeing Sakura's delight at how they had tormented Takeshi that morning, Itachi couldn't help but smirk too. After all, it had been quite entertaining.

"Did you see his face?" Sakura giggled. "I was trying not to look too much, but he was seething the whole time. I was expecting him to snap at any moment."

"It was certainly fun to watch," he agreed. He had to admit, he enjoyed the sight of Takeshi's jaw clenching and unclenching as he forced himself to remain polite. "Although slightly cruel. I believe he's quite fond of you."

Sakura chewed on her lip. "It was necessary. Plus, he's not interested in _me_. It's 'Saika' he wants.'

"Then he will have to settle for disappointment," Itachi said. "But more importantly, the festival is in two days." He reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a small earpiece, tossing it in her direction. She caught it with one hand and inspected it. "It's small enough to fit just inside the ear. Although for the sake of caution you should use your hair to cover your ears."

"Understood," she said, peering at it in her palm. "But since there are so many microphones inside the clothes you've sold, is there a way to differentiate the different voices."

"I only sold the bugged clothes to shinobi wearing a high ranking uniform, and the microphones work through location."

Sakura nodded. "So as we walk around the festival, whenever we get closer to someone wearing a mic, our earpieces will pick up on the conversation," she finished.

"Precisely."

They fell into a comfortable silence then as Sakura fiddled with the earpiece and fashioned her hair so that it was hidden from sight. Itachi knew that hiding his own earpiece would be more difficult as Ichiro's hair wasn't as long as his own natural hair. If push came to shove, he would have to use yet another genjutsu to hide it. It seemed like they had both used countless illusions during this mission. Luckily though, they had all been minor techniques. Nothing that would strain his eyes.

As he emerged from his thoughts, he realised that Sakura had gone silent and was staring at her lap. Judging by the way her gaze shifted in indecision, she had something on her mind but was hesitatant to come out with it.

"Sakura."

She jumped. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"I should be asking you that," he said, noting the way she nervously played with her fingers.

Smiling at him, she brushed him off. "What do you mean? I'm fine. Really."

He gave her a pointed look as if to say, _'you're not fooling anybody'._

"Okay, okay. You're right. I've actually been meaning to apologise."

He wasn't too surprised, as he knew what was coming. But just to be clear, he asked, "apologise for what?"

"For…erm, for the other night," she said. "I'm sorry for pouncing on you in the hall."

"There's no need to apologise," he said. "Your Mistress was watching."

She looked as though she wanted to curl into herself like one of her slug summons. "Yeah, but still. It probably took you aback. No offence but I didn't take you as someone who was…you know, interested in that kind of stuff."

At this, Itachi tried to supress a smile. From what he could gather, her opinions of him were all based off of Sasuke's stories and complaints. And Itachi wasn't deaf. Sasuke often made sly comments, usually intended to wind him up, that he was hitting puberty too late or that he was an animatronic. Sakura probably thought that he was immune to sensuality.

"I suppose my foolish little brother has told you many things about me," he said.

She tensed. "Maybe."

He watched her with mild amusement. "My brother isn't entirely wrong. Although he does like to grossly exaggerate."

She glanced up at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that no, I'm not used to physical intimacy. You did take me by surprise when you kissed me in the hallway. But that is not to say that I have no interest."

Sakura frowned as she thought deeply. She was looking at him curiously, until something must have clicked. "Then does that... Itachi, you…"

He shrugged. "My father is very particular about keeping the Sharingan within the bloodline. No, I have never. Not even on a seduction mission."

"But you must have thought about it."

"Of course. I'm a human being, despite what Sasuke might tell you."

"You never even came close though? Not once? Even within the clan you could have had an Uchiha girlfriend."

He paused at this. She wasn't wrong, but still. He shook his head. "After Izumi, I never really imagined myself with another person." Noticing her mixed expression, he realised too late that he shouldn't have said this. "Too many things have happened," he explained, "have almost happened, and are likely to happen if I don't do something to stop them. I'm afraid relationships have never been a priority."

Sakura nodded, but Itachi wasn't entirely convinced that she was reassured by his words. "You're right, I'm sorry," she said. "But it's _we,_ not _I_."

He frowned. Perhaps he had misheard. "We not I?"

She shook her head. "You said bad things will happen 'if _I_ don't stop them'. There's no 'I' in this anymore, Itachi. We're a team."

Itachi felt himself grow lighter. Even if she was stating something that he already knew, his little slip of the tongue revealed that – even if only subconsciously – he didn't completely trust in her to share his burden.

"Maybe," she began, tentatively, "If we spoke to Kakashi-sensei or Gai-sensei. Any of our comrades who have been affected since the coup, I'm sure we could get their support too."

Itachi considered this carefully. "Although it might be more difficult getting the Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi clans to stand with us after what happened last time." He remembered the stump of Yamanaka Inoichi's arm bleeding out over gravel and the glares he had received even years after the uprising whenever he was required to enter clan districts, regardless of the fact that Itachi held the deepest of regrets for the way Konoha's politics had turned out.

"That's true. But maybe forget about enlisting support from entire clans for now. Perhaps we could just think about individuals, like Tomoharu-kun for example."

"Uchiha Tomoharu?" Itachi knew of the boy. He was a distant cousin of Itachi and Sasuke's, twenty years old, a chuunin who often found himself on guard duty, and had a demeanour reminiscent of Shisui's. "How is it that you know Tomoharu, Sakura?"

Sakura scratched her head sheepishly. "I see him at the gate sometimes when I visit Ino-Pig. But before that, I treated him when he was in the hospital."

"I see. He doesn't seem to be affected by the Curse of Hatred like most of the clan."

"There's also Naruto and Sasuke-kun too," Sakura said. "I know Sasuke-kun isn't exactly against your father, but surely he would understand—"

"He wouldn't," Itachi left no room for argument.

Sakura stared at him with both hurt and surprise. "But he isn't like lots of your clansmen. He doesn't look down on his team, even though we're not Uchiha. He cares about us."

"Yes, he does. And whilst Sasuke is more progressive than the majority of the clan, I'm sure you've noticed that my little brother has been fed lie after lie about the glorious Uchiha clan succeeding after generations of alienation and oppression by the Senju. He believes that what he has been told is correct and true."

Sakura's shoulders slumped. He could imagine what she was thinking of, perhaps memories of times when Sasuke had said something that the rest of Team Seven didn't wholeheartedly agree with.

"But," she whispered. "But Sasuke-kun isn't a hateful person."

"Just a little ignorant," he agreed.

She mulled things over, then her face lit up with curiosity but also hesitation. "Maybe that could be changed…Maybe if you showed Sasuke-kun, you know, the same way you showed me…"

Itachi tensed. "No," he said firmly. At her disappointed expression he added, "and I don't wish to argue about this."

Sakura didn't seem to care. "Don't you see it? That's part of the problem," she insisted. "I've cried for my parents on Sasuke's shoulder time after time, but he never truly understands. He's asked me what the Coup was really like, but I can tell that there's a small part of him that doesn't believe it. He has no idea because he was hidden safely underground whilst the rest of us were terrified."

Itachi knew what she meant. And a tiny part of him agreed with her that Sasuke would be a valuable asset to their cause and that it was time to show Sasuke the truth. Even so, it went against all of his instincts. "I perhaps kept him in the dark for too long," he said. "But my entire life, I have protected him from bloodshed."

Her voice had quietened as it reached him. "I know. But Sasuke's seen more blood than you realise. He' s a shinobi. He left his innocence behind a long time ago. We all have. I'm pretty sure we could get him on board with us."

He didn't respond. He didn't know how, because he couldn't argue with her reasoning. Sasuke had seen more blood than he would like to admit. He wasn't the same Sasuke that greeted him home with a hug every day. In defeat, Itachi chuckled dryly. "Tell me, Sakura, how is it that a conversation about sex has turned into an outline for a guerrilla movement?"

She shrugged. "You know me. I make love and war." Her face crumpled with embarrassment. "That sounded better in my head than it did out loud."

He smiled at her antics and somehow the burden of what would indefinitely lie ahead felt lighter with her presence at his side. It was almost like… _No, she's not like Izumi_. It was true that Izumi had been a light, calming presence when he was struggling with the pressure of the clan, and Sakura's presence certainly had a similar effect. But Izumi and Sakura could not be compared in the slightest. Itachi had never been able to talk to Izumi about the things that troubled him deeply. He had a few times tried to gauge whether or not he could share his burdens with her, but these attempts had never amounted to much. Not through any fault of her own, of course.

 _"_ _Itachi-kun?" He felt the wood of the pier shift as she sat beside him, dangling her legs off the edge next to his own. She was holding a wrapped cloth parcel in her hands. "I brought you something. You're never going to guess what it is."_

 _He already knew what it was, but he let her have the moment. She unwound the cloth to reveal a white paper box with a familiar logo._

 _"_ _Tada!" she opened it and held up a stick of hanami dango. "It's all for you. A gift, from yours truly."_

 _He smiled and took the stick of dango from her. "Thank you, Izumi."_

 _She looked down at her lap, and for a moment he wasn't sure if he had done something wrong. Had he not reacted to her gift as she had wanted him to? But then he felt the toe of her sandal push against his as she playfully swung his foot back and forth, something that she had gotten into the habit of doing over the years. He never minded. Aside from one time in which she had accidentally nudged his sandal off and he had to dive into the lake to retrieve it._

 _"_ _You've been so distant recently," she said quietly. "Actually, scratch that. You're always distant. But something's wrong, I can always tell." He glanced over to find that she was watching him with her big brown eyes. "Please don't push me away Itachi-kun."_

 _Anxiously, he swallowed a bite of dango as he mulled over how he was going to approach the situation. He wasn't sure how much he could tell her about how he felt toward the Uchiha's plot for a Coup. He knew from his work as an Anbu in the observation towers that Izumi attended the clan meetings dutifully, never once skipping like he and Shisui did a couple of times. But Izumi wasn't power hungry like the older generations in the clan. She didn't seem to hold any direct grudge toward the village. Could he trust her with his feelings?_

 _He must've stayed too silent for a beat too long because Izumi looked away with a disappointed smile. "It doesn't matter. I know you like your space, so I won't push you."_

 _"_ _Izumi."_

 _She blinked, surprised. "What is it, Itachi-kun?"_

 _He struggled to find his way around the words. "What are your feelings toward the clan?"_

 _Izumi frowned. "I'm not sure what you mean."_

 _"_ _I mean…" He sighed. "Does the pressure of the clan bother you at all? The plan that my father is advocating, do you agree with him?"_

 _Izumi thought for a moment. "I agree with him in some ways."_

 _Itachi's heart sank. But he tried not to come to any immediate judgement. She had said she only agreed in 'some' instances, not all._

 _"_ _I mean," she continued, "he's not wrong that the clan has been pushed aside for decades. And we all know that we're not trusted because of the Sharingan. It's not really fair that we have to be monitored all the time after the Nine-Tails attack. It's true, I don't like the fact that we'll all have to fight for more power within the village. But if it means that your father would be the Hokage…"_

 _There was no need for her to finish her sentence. He already knew how it would end. Her next words felt like he had been stripped bare, his insides open for her to see._

 _"_ _You don't want your father to be Hokage, do you?" she said. It wasn't a question. He didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on the lake. Izumi had stopped playing with his dangling feet. The forgotten box of dango sat like a dead weight between them. "Not even when he's been blamed and hated for things that he didn't do?_

 _He continued to stare at the lake, even when he felt the pier shift as she stood to leave. Even when his instincts told him that he couldn't let her leave because she could compromise his position as an agent._

 _As if reading his mind, he heard her say, "don't worry, I'm not going to say anything to anybody. I just…" her voice was flat. Saddened. "I thought you would have understood how the rest of us feel."_

 _"_ _Izumi, it's not that I don't—"_

 _"_ _It's okay, Itachi-kun. You don't need to explain it to me. I know you don't like fighting. That's why you once told me to give up being a shinobi that time when we went for lunch in that café, isn't it? And that's why you don't like your father's plan."_

 _His fists were tightly clenched and his spine rigid. He knew he should say something but he couldn't find the right words._

 _"_ _I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, ne, Itachi-kun?" When he finally coerced his body into movement again, when he finally turned to look at her over his shoulder, he saw that she was wearing a false smile like a mask. "I hope you like the dango. I'll see you around."_

"Itachi?" He blinked as a hand waved in front of his eyes. "Itachi? Don't space out on me now."

He was still on the chair in Sakura's bedroom, and Sakura was crouched in front of him snapping her fingers before his face. She had dropped her henge and it felt strange seeing her real features after so long. Her bright green eyes were filled with a doctor's concern, but for a minute he thought he could discern something else glimmering in there.

"Sakura."

 _How can I even compare her to Izumi. They're nothing alike._

She blinked a couple of times, her eyes shifting back and forth in confusion. "Yes, that's me. I'm Sakura."

A hint of a smile graced his lips. "Thank you," he said simply.

If anything, she looked even more perplexed by his words. And as if to smooth out the crease between her brows, he lifted two fingers and lightly tapped her on the forehead.

* * *

A/N: Okay, just to clear something up before somebody unleashes their wrath in the review section, that line where Izumi mentions that Itachi had told her to quit being a ninja is something taken from the novels. Apparently in one of the Itachi novels (I haven't actually read them), he had told Izumi in front of their friends that he wishes she would give up on trying to climb the shinobi ranks. If I can remember at the time, some people assumed that Itachi was being sexist or just plain mean, but to be honest I've always believed that he said that because he's a pacifist and hates the thought of her seeing the kind of bloodshed and violence that he has seen as an Anbu. I wanted to make that explicit here before someone asks what on earth I meant.

I'm sorry for any typos or badly worded sentences as well. I've tried to comb through it, but sometimes I can't see the muddled sentences because I'm used to reading my own words.

Targaryen Breaker: I'm sorry about the switch. I kept changing parts of how I wanted the plot to play out. This mission won't last forever though, and I'm trying to bring in bits and pieces that I mentioned in the earlier chapters (like mentioning Tomoharu in this chapter). Thank you so much for continuing to stick with the story anyway! I'm really happy that you like it :)

Blitzstrahl: I hate to disappoint but I'm not bringing Madara or Zetsu into this story. I just think it would get confusing if I did, so I'm keeping it simple. But yes, there are multiple Mangekyos in existence in this story. It was never clear if Fugaku had the Mangekyo in canon, so I was just playing with that.

Irunai55: A couple of reviewers have been challenging in the earlier chapters, but it seems they were kind of doubtful over how the Coup could have been successful in the first place. Thanks so much for your support! I hope you liked this chapter.

Maso Neko-chan: Sorry! Shisui had to die I'm afraid. Writing his death re-opened old wounds. I haven't decided yet if Sasuke should secretly be in love with Sakura. I intentionally left it open during the rooftop scene between Itachi and Sasuke during an early chapter. You'll have to tell me whether you think he should have feelings for her or not because I can't decide! He doesn't have the Mangekyou right now, though because as you said, Itachi didn't die.


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